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PRINCETON, N. J. 





PURCHASED BY THE HAMILL MISSIONARY FUND. 





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MISSION TOURS 
INDIA 


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TIAWVUVdVIOH’) WaADIZNAG GHOOYW UAIGNVSIV,] SINdVHD ZAHOIAOY - 
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MISSION TOURS 


4 
5 


RT. REV. JOSEPH F.McGLINCHEY, D.D. 


DIOCESAN DIRECTOR OF THE SOCIETY FOR 
THE PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH 


WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
By 
REV. T. GAVAN DUFFY, M.Ap. 


PONDICHERRY, INDIA 


SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH 
ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON 
25 GRANBY STREET, Boston, Mass. 





Ribil @bstat 
PATRICK J. WATERS, Ph.D. 


Censor Librorum 


Imprimatur 


% WILLIAM CARDINAL O’CONNELL 
Archbishop of Boston 


Boston, October 13, 1925 


Copyright, 1925, by Rt. Rev. Joseph F. McGlinchey, D.D. 


First edition (5000 copies), December, 1925 
Second edition (10,000 copies), January, 1926 


Tue University Press, CamBripGs, U.S. A. 
Printed in the U.S.A. 


To 
His Eminence Cardinal ©’ Connell 


whose fatherly counsel, wise guidance and stead- 
fast patronage have made Boston’s charity to 
the Church’s A postolate known in every 
corner of the great white harvest 
field, this book is respect- 
fully dedicated. 


Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2022 with funding trom 
Princeton Theological Seminary Library 


https://archive.org/details/missiontoursindi0Omcg| 


CONTENTS 


ILLUSTRATIONS . 
INTRODUCTION 
PRERACD =. 7 5 
CHAPTER 
I. CEYLON 
II. Mapura AND TRICHINOPOLY . 
Ill. TanyorrE, KUMBAKONAM AND CUDDALORE 
IV. PonpDICHERRY, TINDIVANAM AND GINGEE 
V. SATTIAMANGALAM 
VI. VELLANTANGAL, BUDAMANGALAM, CHET- 
put, ARNI AND VELLORE 
VII. Mapras anp MYLAPORE . 
VIII. Bezwapa AnD GUNTUR 
IX. CaucutTta 
X. CHota NAGPUR . 
XI. Patna 
XII. Agra 
XIII. Lanore 
XIV. Karacui . 
XV. BomBay 
XVI. Baropa AND ANAND. 
XVII. Bomspay — Return AND FAREWELL . 
XVITI. Some OBSERVATIONS . 


121 
143 
155 
167 
175 
209 
224 
241 
258 





ILLUSTRATIONS 
Rt. Rev. Francis T. Roche, 8.J., D.D., and Bishops at his 


Consecration: tiger goed ok te ee eee, Ue ee Frontispiece 
Une:Harbor.o1. COMO kee meetin tate ne eee i 
PLenr vel sii cGlincheyve S:0c.c ee. vars Peer on ee eee res 3 
iene: Beach at Colombor vases. ok eee 2 reeks eee ane. 4 
His Grace Arcibisnop' Goudertuaen © 239s 1 ee 5 
GevlontGentlemiatiz.. sot ae Chatter tee oe oe, Hoe Bee oe ily ech oe 6 
Holysvian and sWVoOrshiper seen ote ae es eee, ee v 
Procession-o1 the sacred: lootin ute. as tee | oe ele ae ee Pee ec 8 
Bishop Deekmevyer <r noe eee oe er eee ee 9 
Papal petainary te handy teres ee ee ee ee ee eae 10 
CUIINAYY Oat ne a eer cc Ret Meee onan por Oa 11 
Buddhist Monks of Ceylon ......... RDS ash Silo cee eek en 12 
DIStribiting? WALCE: etre mc ee en ee ee ee eee 13 
Awungleisick Call skier e tt tee aes cele Git ier 14 
NOUne Cevlonie ashe Or anemic ets te. 2 Uae, Cote nay nen 15 
Fr. Prince and Group of Kaller Converts from the Robber Caste . 16 
WVhe(aay.Colored: Garters, tittneh son: oletine yas eee he ee 17 
Carved Figures at the Entrance to the Hall of a Thousand Pillars 20 
Dishop Maisandlerse tree 7 eerie eee Ne ee alee oe ee 21 
Fr. Roche and his Two Reverend Brothers.................... 22 
ATMLndian merninarialece aimee hice. otal ay abbas te Toa ee 23 
Pisters Of Our Uadyiot the meven Dolors. ure. vue nog 4s. 24 
Trichysobrine aud sacred Looleein eae, faa oe see ae 27 
Sodalists, Jesuit College, Trichinopoly ............ 00006 ecueeee 28 
Where there is no Chapel, Mass is often celebrated ina Stable. 31 
Modest Mission Chapels eae eerie in ere ae ee fee 32 
Chanelsbinltfor.s 1.000 mien eth Rett a Sia ee eee ee 33 
athe Lanjorer alacete: 4b see ee ek Ge ea ee ee 35 
A SUN DAK ONAN eee cise eee eta oe th nate ee a ee 36 
The Lepers’ Church at) Kinmmbakonam sos ac.9, 20.005. eb ae 37 
eisters 1 resting Lie Lepers amar. seek oe. on ee tare eee 38 
A Priest who has Contracted Leprosy and is Being Treated by 

the sisters. ee eee eee ee ir ae ee, Le te Sa 40 
Fathers at Cuddalore with Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny ....... 41 
DALUITUA VAI LEIMOON Wis Br etitee 7 aN New eee ere ee ne SN 42 


Rey. T. Gavan Duffy, M.Ap., and Most Rev. E. J. Morel, D.D. 43 
Boston has put Fifteen Students through the Pondy Seminary.. 44 


POndiChnerry, (Ea UN COrad ae eel ae ets ee ee ees 45 
Church at Tindivanam, Educational Headquarters of Pondicherry 

IVT ssi pr eae oe eee ce A Si tet at, Shen eran, a 47 
NUTS Gg ISLeTStee ee) Ga in ee ree ts ee ee Te ie ee 48 


X ILLUSTRATIONS 


Brothers of St..Gabriel’ TT indivananm.... see ee 48 
Training School and St. Ann’s, Tindivanam ................... 51 
RrOurie Up Waris vt Be oaacate comes: hiner eet enh WA 5g 
SOMITE OWI 7c 00% ad aa weenie vie ecole aetna, Bes teapot eet ee 53 
The Catechist of Kil-Arni............... | PAA Ga ec are 7  hee rts 53 
A Votive Steed outside Pagan Temple, Gingee ................ 54 
Bound for.Dr-.Chavanol’s Dispensaryi: uk ce ee. ee ee 55 
A Haunt ofovionkeys. io, tes ci eee erie ok ote rece 56 
From the: Vank to the Chapel teu 21 w sk 2 «ee 58 
hes Workers'are- lew? Chapel. tea 51 atatsisein ane mee 59 
PeToniis Band, 7c usc Ro Seen eee re care ola ts aeacene nee meee 60 
Born Orators© je hes eee a et ie enna eae 61 
St. anthony § ochool.oattiamangalam. . i... 0. os ee eee 62 
paints (we hope) and Scholars 245 s...00 tes vangaten nae ee 62 
Practicing the “Star Spangled Banner” in Tamil .............. 63 
The Baby Christ has Brothers Everywhere ................... 64 
Christmas Morning brings its own Troubles .................. 65 
Pinal: Picture meMiddle of Reservoir .4 Vie a ee eee ae tere aie 66 
Preparing the bombs) 3.2 Sosee ook oases ee tee 67 
Mater Admirabilis Convent, Vellantangal ..................... 69 
st. Patrick's School, Vellantengal y=, 4.225 > a) cis dee eee 71 
Galisthenies sf aye. 4 ee eee teats eon lake tet eae ae 72 
Hrs Boverdn his: Cary case. Seamed ao cee ie es ce ee ae 73 
The Gospel ofthe Plow. sieeve soe ee eee ee 74 
Fr. Colas in Front of the Church built by his Predecessor at 
Chetputi nu cis os eolnsloe eae se ee tee eas 15 
Reve J... Dartas ssc 9s, eee ee ee OE ee 76 
KilkArni Church %.77oa5 bee eee he eee eee ee ea 79 
Low. MadgHirts a: 08 Pac oe coe tiene ee Re att eee 80 
With Bishop Despatures in Vellore Convent Yard ............. 81 
Inithe Portico of the Templeirq 25 eae cece oe 82 
Esplanade); Madras . 23s 5 a oer 2 ee eda ac oe eee 83 
Archbishop Aclen ofsMadrasia. .5- .cce vara tee ee 84 
AuWee:Maedrasi Soa iia5 eel aes nee: Ae eh vet eee 85 
Achittie English Girl, Madras: 22.0.4. ee ee ee ee 86 
Our Good Friend; the Late Fr. Merkes sca aah oe see 87 
Samples of Fr. Aelen’s Photographic Work .................... 89 
Indian Snake ‘Charmer +9 1g tae oe aes ee ye ee 92 
The Children's: Mriend tyes ake Coa ke ee ee 94 
Driperial cY OWT. wea eas ne ele ake TT ee ee ees 96 
5:30 AM phil a tanseet bee WE oon peek mates Sees POR eM es 97 
Bezwadas Mission Church: seqde. ce ots etic be ee 99 
Lay Apostles Gezwada ®. ©. eck vas fe ol ee ees ee ee 100 
Bezwada Db eeezars ys ctichans.. ihe vi acti ate Re, eee ee ee 101 
omall-Interior ota tions .4-65 oe, ae ae ren eee 102 
RollingsBackito Bezwada.ie yee eA i ee eo es 103 
Another Bezwada Out-Mission?) 26 0.12.28 4 eos pase ee 104 
Bishop -Vismata ey oa Aer oo cee ke Aiea ae Oe ee 104 


An Out-Station Convent, Bezwada 24.4.2 5..-0)...-.) ue eee 105 


ILLUSTRATIONS xi 


Late Dispensary a. otcy Lok nce ehseas ee. Pen yee oes 106 
One of the Big Needs in Bezwada is Catechists ................ 107 
dime forthe tLrain, Father’Travelert/ io. 4. ee ee. 108 
IAS DeZWAA: CLO see a. ee Woe ek Re He aT re ee ed | 110 
In Calcutta, Fr. Tom and I got back into Black Clothing........ 111 
The Late Archbishop of Calcutta, Dr. Meuleman............... 112 
Wrbie Manon a Digger Deastru dese tos soe vad cee et 113 
734 el Deeper h As. ek le Re Ce Sain ie, ay eee dag hh ey we URN Pane te Be 114 
AS CC OPNETAN. 8 OCHOO! ese net tk aieirats Saha ee ne A. St 115 
AC OLUp end Olis: DATTIChy se. ).cu. Were oie hc lore Wires peeree ee Pea 116 
(Chatting wit the Himalayas. Gan ses. cee © eat mene ee en 117 
Gitace belGredVLeals..c..ia ue cae ank tir eee ae alee Yh RES GK 118 
RésuOtice, Calcutta ier fe Ge peed et ee ee ees 119 
DIGNO DE LAV EMI © o2 dN tere ty ay He tnirad sag twit el ee ROE ee 120 
Browne aterellliesd sitter ra ce eh Le ee ae 121 
ONE Ol THEE LAZO SCOOO IS few cnk faite tc carat eee qatar ree ee 123 
ihe keep: Comingiand Conting .. oan 2c. Sau s  eeetne se ese te 124 
Ranch. Churencun the: Brildingey. ccsint  scaheie token aoe ere 127 
HanennC nurchel O27 1c che aciak Recteaid ceca sca heey Oem nme | 128 
pipes Latite isberanahs Lora) trae ia oi ok wea huis duet io tee on eRe 131 
EN ATT VC NOVICES ican cou att Weed ce 2G, ules she es eae Pa SRE 132 
WA lectric loads DUTILL ty wie vile Uh cat? ete. ance hon Gh ee 138 
Eircu liner is bere ns DUNte ties tatoo ae Gerda mc ce a eee 134 
A PIVE iid as ane cee tee ad Hee ew arches hoe EN hs Shea ys 135 
ALOR SUNGAV MASS if. aed ote VOR, ps ee ek ote ey aed ee 137 
The First Chapel in a Newly Converted Village................ 138 
Catholics of Chota Nagpur, returning Home to their Villages after 

PON aw uM asgave Aw eee Oh ok ale rte ee ot We Ses gs IE) 139 
iarewelbto- ls Unt wo te eee week ode wee Se oe ee eee 141 
DEETIENCUT DENA ee.2 ois de do beat dees Vee ee eee eat alee 142 
pe Wlecientmleener sau ao aa ee am es eh cee a tee ee 144 
When Fr. Westropp was with the American Indians............. 145 
His Excellency, the Most Rev. Alexis Henry M. Lepicier, O.S.M., 

Dee POSLOUGLY ISILOE:LO INCid cette che tne ore ce ae ae 146 
ire Hiserarchyeol tl ndia. LOSS ao 0 a 2 hao ae ae ee arg anes 148 
LLC el arsed iasrs See CE One Ln ob wee GARY ne Sa Ane hae 152 
benares tie Home. of baeat India pias ote a. oh cn Wate ane ORT 153 
Picture taken from the Railway Bridge as our Train Steamed into 

Pla ln bac o. cc sge hohe ta Sees iy cid eee. ete oe ee eA ne EA 154 
Our Capuchin loste ateA gra wos ee vb oes ce ens Oe ee oe 156 
Domethe Sights of Agra fe 2... cee eae eR ne ee Menke 157 
The Taj Mahal, the World’s most nearly Perfect Building ....... 158 
ecavrae Orta ti aka, Se ait Sette ee acts Wie ries won ce 160 
APM Ooul Lomb imate ee ee Rte oe tale were se Garey ea pine ercn es 160 
RIGWErs-ll Precious SLONCS age sath da ace ae eres oe lente 161 
Gamrying the Bodyito the River 6 recs (dees eens oe ee 162 
Dipping Corpse in. the Sacred Rivers 5,445. 4472-02 eee a 162 
Phe Corpse Teaay. fOr LNG Irena a.) ate chee | eee mere oe oe 163 


eaceworkan Marble: x8.) 20 Mixa i ate, ee ee eae oy ieee 164 


xii ILLUSTRATIONS 


AvType of Gart peculiar tovAgra eco she eee eee 165 
Mohammedans at Prayer in the Chief Mosque at Agra ......... 166 
Bishop Eestermans © s\i..05 ,:..09 0 hele nek ete een ee eae 167 
Model of Lahore Cathedral for Vatican Exhibition ............. 168 
HichsAltar, Lahore Cathedral? 3.5.8 soe to eee ee 169 
Bishop Eestermans and his Capuchin Staff .................... 170 
Marble Grating cocci eu sce ie eee aa ee ee ee 171 
The Mother of a Native Bishop and two Priests................ 172 
Nranciscan Derbiaries.. os. ca vas ce ete are ee eee 173 
Henry in-an Outlyuig) Mission). 72524. see on oe eee ee 174 
styMary a} High School, Mazagon™.. o.9) asa ono ee ee 178 
ot-.Patrick's High School, Karaehr, 4. 2.02. 6.4 acces oe 179 
The Goal of our Pilgrimage, Henry’s Grave in Karachi.......... 180 
His Indian; Boy: Friends y sie? vce ee eds ee 182 
Henry at‘ Tnnsbracktiet are aes ate nn & ee een ae 183 
On the Mission ‘Trail, Sea. cy kate ae oe ee eee. ee 184 
Inf Pouch with: Native Converts, 2.* ots ee ee ee 185 
Boys abot. Patricks OCHOOlas tl cau ee ee 186 
School Cart. Karschicsioo. ac diet sk aa ee ce eee 187 
Michael’ang Pregl one ee. gies aig ieee oe ee ee ee 190 
whe Dra velereat ge Saas adhe cc ee aoe a ee 190 
An Ouieaste se). 245g nik eked otal o saree ee nee 196 
Gaste- Boys ta os eee whew ieee Sie eee eb Pee ae ee aoe 197 
If an Outcaste gets a Drink of Water from a Caste-Man, he 

may not touchethe Drinking Vessel... 20.4. 0...: 1.08 8ac ines 198 
Lhe Barber: Casté+..): 44 maer oem See ie. 2 ee eee ee 200 
A-Gaste Gatechists 2245 «sere oe ae oe ok eee 201 
Oneiof the richinopoly;Churehies-, oe eee 202 
The Scavenver Casteseask i ote eis se eee en ee 203 
A‘ Government. Eiiployeési2 oo 2 xe ek ae eet 204 
Bishop Roche es #59 staan -civw ss se ee Sa eee 205 
Aglelucu' Priestixt oiacmecioee Avie aarti cee te ae ee 206 
AvTamil’Priést 2423860 4 cae, oe etic oe ee Oe Le eee 207 
AMisston School) iii 5 s.46 54.8% erase: ea Re ee ee, ee 208 
Archbishon: Goodier ces oss ok o>. acs 2 ee ee 209 
me uch Gourt, Bombay? Us toa 2 ce oo ee ie ee 211 
The Poor of;Bombay..5 25sec cee Th ee ee Cer re ee 212 
AiPagan God Ape iinend ics bh eae eee ee See 213 
Franciscan lissionaries of Mary 2... 245-7) oto) ee eee 214 
he Gateway of: Zeal <2 ssi specs ce ade, ee ae Q15 
Missionary, Lispiration at.its Source a) es a. ee 216 
Eliza, the Negro Nurse at Bandra Orphanage ................. 220 
AA aki tie do ois 2k after 2 ic. a Rar ee ieee See ete a 222 
Ai Pathan Piper © ow ciens 8 Sa: eis ee tees ne arc ete see eee re 223 
AsRoyal. Lady <3.) oni ap cae we eG eon en eae ee ee 224. 
An indian?Maharaja: wel. hc ocak eee a ee ee 225 
A’ Pair-of Friends Ale. scl 0 ee eee ee oe: 226 
Another: Pairof-Friendst -. rico ace te eee See eee Q27 


Untouchable:s a Bute ee ee a te eee eo 228 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Grace Cate) OUCH 1 UCM Ge seat Ati Fiua s GEA aarti eee Nae 
Royal Table, carved in Mission School..........0:.........000. 
ADC ostl ys GlOakeracier Sots te ioe Gaels Meee ate hice act. ae belt 
SPoUs OL the Nunta cea tr ne, ee ei, ee a ee eee 
Peneslravelerts Upliteds. es eee corm teen et eit ce eee ince 
Bubwitmibo oimnksinderkrs | Olas atte ear i te 
When the Builockthecomesa Horse 72, o. 4). Gioce ach a ee a 
PreGounter, kp Olt oreeOack: saree, ae ue es eee. cet 
Daughters of the Crosser oe ence & ety eG wee ee, 
OuriConveyancetO (ne School iy acc tck sae thes os eae eee 
Entrance to Elephanta Caves, Bombay ...................005- 
PLHGAVV cas tl OL LOGIAt Aree tet Ca et ne nee ae Wnces ae Toe 
LOW CL-OL wll GHCE Maratea Aero eit ete ren Ske eee, Pt, eae te SET? 
AS CTED UD OLA TSIS Ce eatin ars Ge oh ad ae er eee. ae ee ey oe eo, 
ASAP AI CLICSUR AE onset oie we ny oe cla oa hn a. ed tes a ae ek 
interior Of Hindu: Lem plerme stew e Nest 5s oe aes ened oe 
AGRE ID Ulta eerie stot eit Me, eee ces Bl fs Washoe ot Sedlieeie ang chs, 
SIAICE SY V OSPR Mores Gere ws en ee eee tee ne Cc tech ee amare aera ore 
Er SCH DICED tyre aco deat 3 ee ase eh See eo oe te nieces ret oe a 
DEW ALL LOMDOR ISLE farts as are ate ea ne ore este ahs oa ree ee a as 
A Acoristian, Weatn-bed in Indias ac ae tah teat aoe tee ere 
ASL YDICAIINSUYEe, HOUSCROKG 2h cue cS) nea See ae 
Piitiohrs Dennetts | orto. oa pean a a en ee teeta ene ts ay i 
algal mA IeVOIl tts ot a eee re ee oe RE ee 
Pioneer Work among the Pagans is not the only Preoccupation of 

OllPa VL ISSIONSTICS bese cer ee Pree kein Sere ss ee oe, 
hey must also leach the Christians, su. ane ek eee oo 
They must have Churches and Seminaries.................-... 
They must build Large and Permanent Churches............... 
IN SY CLETAD PMiSSIONGY yoacr tte aan ee es casio aera ees rede ee ae 
Catholie Colleviansi: 21. cous teauew aot ahs: Sscitaa coe ra nie eas 
PCHOOls LCACh Gras Valent teenth eee ee, Seer eas teeta Goes 
Cloister of Catholic University, Pekin, China .................. 
Three Seminarians supported by American Benefactors.......... 
IIOP MeMUDATIANS fey ace eee he ea eee aoe 
DELECLING A CALCCHISL, Waters ena, tn oc atari coe ne bare ie one 
Gatechistsrinws raining. 9784; ey cect ieee oe Wet aes rns 
MATA LECITISL Cakes tite. Me a other sacty cork Ohl ags cn otis ccs eos We SS SN 
PC LAVIN PG OLAITCASG Se py aco Win tote e tee tae Beer oe tt ood cee 
Where Dr. Dengel received her Missionary Experience .......... 
PLHesy Wide DOCEON mets deaig oe ttt an ee ere aah te ae oe oe 
PLNeEMission: DOCtOresy sumac thera: he cee a eae weet ee acct 





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INTRODUCTION 


Many busy week-days at the desk and many heavy 
Sundays in the pulpit, year in and year out — such 
is the foundation upon which any Diocesan Director 
of the Propagation of the Faith builds his claim to 
the title of “Missioners’ Friend”; and no man has 
earned the title better than the Author of this book. 
For the past fourteen years, under the steadfast 
patronage of His Eminence Cardinal O’Connell, 
Monsignor J. F. McGlinchey has presided over the 
missionary education of the Archdiocese of Boston, 
extending the work of his predecessors with unflag- 
ging activity and complete disinterestedness on his 
part and the most loyal coéperation on the part of 
his staff. 

Nor has the effort ever been directed to producing 
spasmodic bursts of sentimental frenzy in favor of 
the Missions, but to creating a well-informed public 
opinion, ready for solid and unfailing sacrifice as an 
integral part of our Catholic life. It is in accordance 
with this policy that you will find his ‘“‘ Mission 
Catechism” and his translations of missionary books, 
such as “The Workers are Few” and “‘The Conver- 
sion of the Pagan World,” replete with the facts of 
the case much more than with its heart-appeal. 

Needless to say, these works have spread beyond 
the borders of Boston; of the ‘‘ Mission Catechism” 
half a million copies are in circulation throughout 


XV 


Xvi INTRODUCTION 


the country; and I know that every Mission interest 
in America today counts implicitly on the sympa- 
thetic understanding and active support of Monsignor 
McGlinchey. 

And, indeed, he has had unique opportunities, and 
used them well. He had been only three years in 
the Boston Propagation Office when His Eminence 
Cardinal O’Connell, anxious to put him in touch 
with the operative end of Mission work, sent him 
to visit the various Foreign Mission Seminaries of 
Europe. (On this trip, he was accompanied by his 
Jesuit brother, whose grave in India was the term 
of his pilgrimage to our “‘coral strand.’’) 

Cardinal O’Connell’s envot on this occasion took 
the form of a parable. ‘The Mission Seminaries,” 
His Eminence said, “‘are the tree trunks, in which is 
generated the sap of zeal; their branches spread to 
the ends of the earth. Later we must send you to 
see the fruit ripening on the uttermost boughs.” 

Accordingly, after twelve years of correspondence 
with the Mission Field and innumerable talks with 
passing Missioners, when the Office at home was 
running so smoothly and efficiently as to be a recog- 
nized model for many of its younger brethren, His 
Eminence felt that now the time had come for 
Monsignor McGlinchey to study the many details 
that he could not learn otherwise than from an 
actual visit to the Orient; and, further, that only 
thus could he bring about that personal contact 
between the benefactors at home and the men at 
the front which is so vastly more effective than any 
amount of theory. And so, in 1922, he went to 
Japan, Corea, China, Indo-China and India. A 


INTRODUCTION XVil 


few other American priests have, in recent years, 
seen large sections of the Mission Field and recorded 
some of their findings. As none of them has given 
much time or space to India, Monsignor McGlinchey 
writes of India first, in this book. We may hope that 
it is only the beginning of a series; anyhow, it con- 
tains the Indian Impressions of one who saw with 
fair thoroughness and absolute impartiality. 

Some of the chapters I saw being written while 
the perspiration poured from the Author’s brow. 
These are the earlier pages of the book; they speed 
along on hurried feet, too hot and tired for much 
comment; they see and describe and pass on. ‘The 
later chapters, written at home from ample notes, 
are more speculative and didactic; they pause and 
discuss more general questions of Mission interest 
than was possible in the diary-style of the part 
written on the road; the serious Mission-lover will 
find them worth dwelling on in greater detail. 

And the photographs? Just as a kindly Provi- 
dence allowed me to pilot the Author through the 
intricacies of his Indian Tour, so It brought me to 
Boston just in time to help in steering this record 
through the Press. We took the pictures together 
in India — we worked over them together in Boston; 
and it would be hard to say whether we had more 
fun (and toil) sorting and placing the pictures for 
the book or more toil (and fun) sorting and placing 
our impressions during the trip. Of one thing you 
may rest assured — that the Author is a good com- 
rade at work and a good companion at play; so you 
can start out for India with him and have no doubt 
of a good time ahead. 


xviii INTRODUCTION 


If the text and the pictures of this book have one 
message clearer than another, it is this: all the good 
works which are comprised within a “Diocese”’ at 
home are also to be expected in a “‘ Mission” abroad. 
You will not hear only (if at all) in these pages, of 
the Missioner in the jungle, hunting tigers with one 
hand and souls with the other. You will hear of 
the Missioner teaching, by means of Catechists, 
Schools, Colleges and Universities. You will hear 
of the Missioner buzlding, and see pictures of his 
rectories, chapels, churches and cathedrals. You 
will hear of hospitals, codperative banks, orphanages, 
asylums. You will hear of native Indian students, 
seminarians, priests and bishops. And you will con- 
clude, quite rightly, that it costs as much to run a 
“Mission” abroad as a “‘Diocese”’ at home. 

And, logically, you will renounce in your heart 
the all too common error of thinking that ‘‘The 
Society for the Propagation of the Faith, through its 
memberships, attends to all that.’’ It does not, nor 
does it claim to; it helps as much as it possibly can, 
but will never do it all. When its best efforts have 
been put forth and its generous alms distributed, 
there still remains ninety per cent of the expenses 
to be met from the patrimony of the Missioners, the 
pennies of the converts and the private friends of 
each particular work. The thing is obvious. The 
Author of this book is himself an official of the 
Propagation of the Faith Society; yet so far is he 
from claiming for that (or any other) Society a 
monopoly of Mission Aid, that it is absolutely true 
to state that many a Mission (and mine not least) 
would have gone out of business a dozen times in 


INTRODUCTION xix 


the past few years, if it had not been assisted, in 
matters which the Society does not officially touch, 
by gifts and Mass stipends collected by Monsignor 
McGlinchey himself, and by others equally aw fait 
with Mission actualities. 

Do your duty then, dear Reader, by the Propa- 
gation of the Faith Society as organized in your 
locality; and then learn from this book some of the 
hundreds of other ways which the Lord leaves open 
to your zeal. 

And meanwhile, keep saying, with deeper and 
deeper feeling as you realize the Missions better 
through these pages, 


Thy Kingdom come! 
Thy Kingdom come! 
Tuy Kinepom comMeE! 


T. GAVAN DUFFY. 


October 15, 1925 
Boston, Mass., U.S. A. 





PREFACE 


SHORTLY before the writer left for the Far East, he 
was asked to record the impressions of his journey 
in Catholic Missions, by the National Director of the 
Society for the Propagation of the Faith, Monsignor 
(now Bishop) Freri. The first contribution was 
printed in the issue of January, 1923, and others 
appeared monthly up to March of this year. 

Many requests to publish the articles in book 
form came from friends; but not until the present 
National Director of the Society, Monsignor Quinn, 
urged such a publication was it decided upon. 

That the volume is generously illustrated is due 
in large measure to the forethought of the traveler’s 
guide and companion through India, the Rev. T. 
Gavan Duffy, M.Ap. The traveler, a novice at 
photography, brought with him a very ordinary 
camera; the companion had two (borrowed for the 
trip) and they were quite out of the ordinary. ‘This 
accounts for the fact that the traveler appears in 
so many — perhaps too many — pictures. Fr. 
Duffy not only took the best pictures, but lent to 
the task of introducing them into the text an 
artistic temperament, a power to visualize, patience 
and perseverance. 

Grateful acknowledgment is also made to the 
author and publishers of the Stoddard Lectures for 
graciously supplying a number of half-tones. 


xxl 


XXxil PREFACE 


The occasional reference to strenuous travel and 
fatigue will, perhaps, be better understood by call- 
ing to the attention of the reader the fact that 
India was the tail end of the Mission Tour; for 
Japan, Corea, China and Indo-China had preceded. 

The tour was not for pleasure. It was made in 
the interest of the missions. It was a business trip. 
But it was not without its social side nor did it lack 
touching experiences, many of which are not even 
referred to. 

It was a delight to meet men and women with 
whom one had corresponded for a dozen years, to 
hear the words of gratitude one had so often read 
in their letters, to see with one’s own eyes living 
conditions that no missionary could adequately 
describe even with the most gifted pen. 

One pathetic incident not mentioned in the text 
may be noted here. It was a meeting with an old 
friend and protégé who had contracted leprosy. A 
few months after returning to the Office, a letter 
came from this poor priest. It began with an ex- 
pression of appreciation for some little courtesy 
shown him in his mission; this was followed by an 
appeal for assistance to travel some distance for 
treatment; it closed with the words “‘If you ask the 
public to help me, please do not mention my name. 
The world is small, and I do not want my dear old 
mother to know that her boy is a leper.”” We made 
the appeal, got a handsome response, and “‘his dear 
old mother” never knew, at least on earth. She has 
since gone to her reward. The missionary is under- 
going treatment in Burmah. Let us hope and pray 
for a cure. 


PREFACE xxi 


The amusing incidents mentioned are naturally 
among the pleasant memories of the trip. There 
were others arising from Hindu manners, customs 
and mode of life that are best untold. India is a 
strange land and is inhabited by a stranger people. 
As stated im the text, monotony is not a charac- 
teristic of Indian travel. 

In Fr. Gavan Duffy’s Introduction he emphasizes 
the absence of the romantic and the sentimental in 
the book. He calls attention to the appeal to the 
mind rather than to the heart of the reader. The au- 
thor was not conscious of this while writing. He did 
not designedly avoid the sentimental side of mission 
life. It must, however, be admitted that, after years 
of mission study one inclines to the bigger and more 
fundamental enterprises, setting aside the popular 
impression that all missions are in the formative 
state and that the physical ministrations to the 
natives, the personal discomforts and hardships of 
the missionaries should be the only basis of appeal. 

These are but secondary; they are only a means 
to an end. The value of a soul should be the chief 
basis of appeal, for the saving of souls is the objective. 
The bigger, more important projects and the more 
direct method of conversion are really what count. 

Among the bigger, more important and more last- 
ing activities there are two that stand out in relief: 
the education of a native clergy and a native Sister- 
hood and the multiplication of well-trained cate- 
chists. These fundamental works have been stressed. 
lf the reader carries away a better understanding of 
these two phases of mission endeavor and codperates 
in them, Mission Tours will have served a purpose. 


XX1V PREFACE 


Join the International, Pontifical Society for the 
Propagation of the Faith as a Perpetual or a Special 
member; at least become an Ordinary member. If 
you can give your time as well as your money, secure 
a Promoter’s card and thus interest others. But do 
not feel that your generosity and your zeal should 
stop here. The purpose of the Society is to support 
our missionaries. ‘The upbuilding and maintenance 
of their churches, seminaries, schools, hospitals and 
orphanages must be cared for as well. All this is 
accomplished through gifts and Mass stipends, with- 
out which most missions would be forced to close 
their doors. 


JOSEPH F. McGLINCHEY. 


Feast of the Presentation, 
November 21, 1925. 


CHAPTER I 
CEYLON 


T was at Colombo that I dis- 
embarked from the Armand 
Behic, which had taken me 
from Hongkong to Tonkin and 
Cochin China and thence 
through the Straits Settle- 
ments, with two very interest- 
ing stops at Singapore and 
Penang. 

We were three days behind 
schedule in arriving at Co- 
lombo. The boat anchored in 
the harbor, and I was the only 
first-class passenger to land. 
Though the hour was late, my 
companion for the next six 
weeks, the Rev. T. Gavan 
Duffy, Supervisor of Parochial 
Schools in the diocese of Pondi- 
cherry, India, found his way 
in a small boat to the gang- 
way. After bidding good-bye 
to a few of my fellow pas- 
sengers with whom I had be- 
come better acquainted than 
with the others, during the 

1 





2 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


past two weeks, I accompanied my guide to the 
shore. 

Ceylon is not a part of India. Yet I realized that 
I was on the threshold of that great country with 
over a fifth of the world’s population, with people 





From ‘‘John L. Stoddard’s Lectures” 
THE HARBOR OF COLOMBO 


whose manners and customs and 
mode of life are quite different 
from those of the Japanese, Coreans, Chinese, An- 
namites, and Malays among whom I had sojourned 
during the past three months. 

I was glad to meet Fr. Tom, for I had learned to 
know him while he was in the United States. Sub- 
sequent correspondence, more intimate and con- 
fidential than is customary with missionaries, helped 
me to appreciate his love for his work, his zeal for 
souls, his honest, straightforward character. 

It was about half a mile to the pier and about three 
miles to the Archbishop’s house, where we were to 





CEYLON 3 


spend the night. Each had much to tell the other; 
but somehow there was not much said. I was 
thinking of someone else who might have met me 
had God seen fit to spare 
him. Perhaps Fr. Tom per- 
ceived this. Yes, my thoughts 
reverted to the death at 
Karachi, far up north in the 
Sind Desert, on the border 
of Baluchistan, of my own 
brother Henry, a Jesuit Scho- 
lastic, a little over four years 
before. 

He was young and ener- 
getic. He just bristled with 
life and action. His cheerful, 
lively disposition won the 
hearts of the Indian and Eurasian boys at St. Mary’s 
College, Bombay, where he spent two years, and 
at St. Patrick’s High School, Karachi, where he 
breathed his last, a victim of the world-wide warn- 
ing from heaven, which for want of a better name 
we called the Spanish influenza. 

I thought of his letters, of his plans for the future, 
of the cable that announced his death, of the way 
in which our brave little mother received the news. 
I was sick in the hospital with the same dread 
disease. A priest friend, who brought word to me, 
in company with another brother, broke the news 
to her. When the first shock was over, she said: 
“Thank God for sparing Fr. Joseph to look after 
me!” She did not need my care long, for she went 
to her reward three months later on Christmas 





HENRY P. McGLINCHEY, S.J. 


4 MISSION TOURS— INDIA 


night, and — may we not say, finished the Feast in 
heaven? 
These were the thoughts that ran through my 


 copaaunsonersaeeeeeemeeaiae nae ~ — ———— a 





i ae a Ss af 
By permission of the publishers of ‘‘John L. Stoddard’s Lectures ’’ 
THE BEACH AT COLOMBO 


bers 


brain as we were rowed to the dock, and later while 
on our way to the home of Archbishop Coudert. 

It was well after ten when we drove into the 
garden and through the long lines of cocoanut palms 
that lead to the house. All was still, for not knowing 
when the boat would arrive, the Fathers (Oblates of 
Mary Immaculate) had retired at ten o’clock, an 
hour later than usual. I was glad, for they rise at 
half-past four. 

Fr. Tom went to his room to arouse his faithful 
boy, Michael, who, as I have since learned, is his 


CEYLON 5 


Mass server, cook, waiter, and general utility man. 
Michael, of course, is an Indian. He took my two 
valises to my room and returned to his mat on the 
floor beside the bed of his master. 

It was not long before I, too, was stretched on 
my mat, the usual covering on the springless beds 
that serve for missionary 
and guest alike in tropi- 
cal Ceylon. The motion 
of the boat was still in 
my feverish brain, and 
sleep was not for me. 

At breakfast, I met 
His Grace and mostof the 
community. The Arch- 
bishop gave me two of 
his white linen cassocks, 
one of which I was coun- 
seled to put on before 
starting out to visit the 
various institutions in the 
city. It provedablessing. 

Although the mission- 
aries had everywhere spoken of the welcome, refresh- 
ing winter season, which “‘renews their health and 
gives them strength to face nine more months of 
enervating heat,” I was sweltering, especially in the 
sun. What must the summer be? 

I learned that Msgr. Brault, the Oblate Bishop of 
Jaffna, and Msgr. Van Reeth, the Jesuit Bishop of 
Galle (both of whom have since died), had come to 
Colombo to meet me, but because of my late arrival 
(three days behind schedule) they could not wait. 





HIS GRACE ARCHBISHOP COUDERT 


6 MISSION TOURS—INDIA 


At dinner, I met Msgr. Ro- 
bichez, the Jesuit Bishop of 
Trincomalee. These three 
dioceses with thatof Kandy, 
which we visited the next 
day, make up the four suf- 
fragan sees of the diocese of 
Colombo. All five are on 
the island of Ceylon. 

yr a The territory covered by 
CEYLON GENTLEMAN the diocese of Colombo is 
one-sixth Catholic. Out of a total population of a 
million and a half, there are 260,000 in the Church. 
The city itself, with a quarter of a million souls, 
counts twenty-five per cent. who are baptized in the 
Faith. 

As mission countries go, the diocese of Colombo is 
well provided with churches (300), and not so badly 
off as many others in regard to missionaries (132), 
most. of whom, like His Grace, are French Oblates. 
The Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the Sisters of the 
Holy Family, and the Franciscan Missionaries of 
Mary have schools and academies for girls. The 
first two communities have each over 150 native 
Sisters under their direction. The Little Sisters of 
the Poor look after the aged. 

But the great surprise is found in the schools. His 
Grace told me that he had 49,000 children in Cath- 
olic schools, and only six or seven hundred through- 
out the diocese who are not in parochial schools. 
This is remarkable, notwithstanding the fact that 
St. Francis Xavier preached in Ceylon as far back 
as 1544. 









CEYLON 7 


There are two colleges for boys: one conducted by 
the Oblate Fathers, with 1200 pupils, and the other 
by the Irish Christian Brothers, with an equal num- 
ber of students. In the former, seventy-five per cent. 
of the boys are Catholic, while the latter has but 
four per cent. who are not Catholics. 

This fact I found most encouraging, for in Japan 
the students in the schools of the Marianist Brothers 
are almost entirely pagan; this is true in most of the 
Brothers’ schools which I visited in China, with the 
exception of Hongkong. I do not want to convey 
the impression that the Brothers are responsible for 
this condition. They cannot help it if most of the 
boys sent to them are the children of pagan parents. 





By permission of the publishers of “J ohn L. Stoddard’s Lectures ’’ 
HOLY MAN AND WORSHIPER 


8 MISSION TOURS —INDIA 


Moreover, in no such institutions throughout the 
Far East, whether for boys or girls, are the con- 
versions numerous. 

It would take more time and space than I have to 
give to the question to explain the reason for the 
existence of such schools. In passing, it might be 





By permission of the publishers of ‘‘John L. Stoddard’s Lectures ’’ 


PROCESSION OF THE SACRED TOOTH 









noted that in most places, without pagan pupils it 
is impossible to finance these schools, colleges, and 
academies. Almost all the students pay and many 
are boarders. Moreover, in the minds of the mis- 
sionaries these institutions are a valuable means of 
gaining influence for the Church. 


CEYLON 9 


Brief as was our stay in the capital of Ceylon, we 
saw enough of its hustling, alert Archbishop and of 
the Catholic spirit of the city to be deeply impressed. 
We were sorry not to be 
able to enjoy more of the 
hospitality so graciously 
shown us. 

From Colombo to the 
ferry which we planned 
to take to the mainland 
is a run of about twelve 
hours. En route we were 
met by the Benedictine 
Bishop of Kandy, Msgr. 
Beekmeyer, in whose di- 
ocese is a Papal Semi- 
nary, conducted by the 
Belgian Jesuit Fathers. 

Between Colombo and 
Peradeniya, where His 
Lordship took us in charge, the road winds up and 
around the mountains, giving at every turn delightful 
views of varied, tropical scenery. It reminded me of 
Hawai. This district has been called the most 
beautiful that any train has ever traversed. Some say 
the Garden of Eden might well have been placed here. 

At Peradeniya, we went through the Royal Bo- 
tanic Gardens that rank with the most famous in the 
world. They cover 150 acres and are almost com- 
pletely skirted by a winding river. 

In the sleepy, dreamy town of Kandy, four miles 
away, back in the fourth century was erected the 


Temple of the Sacred Tooth of Buddha. It is a 





BISHOP BEEKMEYER 


10 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





PAPAL SEMINARY AT KANDY 


pilgrimage resort. In 1560, the original molar was 
replaced by one of ivory, mounted on a lotus flower 
of pure gold. It is four inches long and an inch in 
diameter. 

Kandy is a small diocese. It has 30,000 souls. 
Four-fifths of its twenty-five priests are sons of St. 
Benedict (the Sylvestrian Congregation). As we had 
but a few hours between trains, we saw only the 
three principal educational institutions: St. An- 
thony’s College with 500 students, conducted by the 
Benedictines; Mt. Leo’s School with 400 girls, di- 
rected by a community of twenty Good Shepherd 
Sisters (all from Ireland); and the Seminary. 

This seminary was established in 1893, and up to 
the present has been supported directly from Rome. 
It is under the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda, 
the missionary arm of the Church’s administration; 
hence its name, the Papal Seminary of Kandy. Its 
seventy-five students come from different dioceses in 
India and Ceylon, and are given a broader education 
than is afforded in the smaller diocesan ecclesiastical 
institutions. 


CEYLON 11 


After going through the building, making a tour 
of the grounds (it would be difficult to imagine a 
more beautiful location), and giving a talk to the 
seminarists, I was shown the foundations of a chapel 
which the good Fathers have not been able to com- 
plete for want of funds. If such a charity appeals to 
any of our readers, I shall be glad to supply further 
information. 

One must be prepared for surprises on a long trip 
like this. A very pleasant one was in store for me 
here. Among the Fathers who welcomed us upon 
our arrival was an old friend, a mse Seip 
at. that, the P 
Rev. Denis 
latte ne eee 
Ia od Ppiaikede 
has been 
seven years 
in the Bom- 
bay missions 
and, of course, 
knew my 
late brother 
Henry. He |. 1g 
A hens ast ‘SEMINARY STAFF (Fr. Lynch is in FR: omer 
pines to join some thirty of his American confréres. 

By eight o’clock the next morning, Saturday, 
December 16, we had finished Mass on the ferry 
boat which plies between Talaimannar (Mannar) 
and Ramaswaram (India). There were two priests 
on board besides ourselves. It seemed strange to 
say Mass on a ferry boat. 





12 MISSION TOURS—INDIA 


Mannar is a small island, connected with Ceylon 
by a bridge. It was converted by Fr. Francis Xavier, 
S.J., a relative of the great Apostle of the Indies of 
the same name. ‘Today, notwithstanding years of 


| 3 
iB : 






BUDDHIST 


horrible persecution, it has a Catholic population 
of 11,000. 

The employees on the ferry are all Catholic, so 
much so that they carry everything required for the 
Holy Sacrifice, and are delighted when there is a 
priest among the passengers. We had hardly stepped 
on the boat when we were invited to vest for Mass. 
It was most edifying to see how devoutly these 
Indian sailors assisted. 

When Mass was over the boat started across to 
India. It took two hours and was such a rough 
passage that it reminded me of my worst crossings 
of the English Channel, or from Havana to Key 


CEYLON 13 


West. The priests were the only passengers served 
with breakfast. Upon inquiring the price, we were 
told, ‘‘Nothing, Father, that’s on the crew.” Only 
three plates were needed. The fourth member of the 
party was looking for a soft bench. When the 
captain saw my predicament, he quickly produced 
a folding canvas bed and — all was well! 

About 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 16, we set 
foot on Indian soil at Ramaswaram. At 11 a.m. 
the train which meets the boat started us on our long 
northward journey, which was to bring us almost to 
the delta of the Sacred Ganges and to the foot of the 
noble Himalayas. 

*k K K K 


The good French missionaries in China told me 


Ve) } 


that my itinerary was “trop pressé.”’ Lagreed. There 








DISTRIBUTING WATER 


14 MISSION TOURS—INDIA 





A JUNGLE SICK CALL 


was no room for argument. But I felt that once 
I was in India, with good railroads and a more or 
less direct line north, it would be less tiring. It is 
good that we do not know what is ahead of us in 
this life. 

The journey up the eastern coast was more stren- 
uous than I had yet experienced. My guide, who 
showed no mercy, was bent on having me see as 
much as possible. Naturally, the missionary activ- 
ities in his own diocese (Pondicherry) were not 
slighted. By.increasing the number of places visited 
and shortening the time spent in each, we accom- 
plished much in the six weeks allotted to this 
fascinating land where 264 different languages are 
spoken. It should be noted that the peoples who 
make up this great country differ as much among 
themselves in manners and customs and mode of life 
as the English and the French or the Germans and 
the Russians. 


CEYLON 15 


Dress! I never wished for the perfection of colored 
photography as I did in India. ‘Turbans and trousers 
of countless colors! Saris of seventy different shades! 
The “sari” is a strip of cloth about fifteen feet by 
three, worn by the women. It is wound about the 
body so that it serves as a combined skirt, shawl, and 
headdress. 

The natives of India may be roughly divided ac- 
cording to their religion into Hindus and Moham- 
medans. Both have their distinctive dress which, 
however, is subject to many variations from province 
to province. The main impression left upon an 
American is that of riot- ss SA 
ous color in violent and — 
yet agreeable contrast 
with the monotony to 
which he is accustomed 
at home. Monotony, in- 
deed, is quite the least of 
one’s experiences on such 
a trip. From railroad to | 
bullock bandy, from bi- 
cycle to camelback, from 
gharri to elephant, are the 
changes which, though 
they increase the fatigue, 
lend charm and variety 
to the journey. 

Never did I traverse 
the “Rocky Road _ to 
Dublin.” I did, however, 
make twenty-five miles 
in a bullock bandy. This 





YOUNG CEYLON 


16 MISSION TOURS—INDIA 


is the only thing I have against Fr. Tom. And, if 
he ever notes a falling off in his mail from Boston 
(we seldom write to missionaries without sending a 
remittance), let him think of his ruthlessness in plan- 
ning that most strenuous of days. 

In five weeks, we visited twenty-five missions 
(either central or out-stations). So eager were we 
both to employ our days to the utmost that it was 
out of the question to do more than jot down a few 
rough notes each night. Even then, sleep often over- 
came us. I mention this by way of apology for the 
hurried and brief account that must follow of our 


Indian trip. 





FR. PRINCE AND GROUP OF KALLER CONVERTS PROM THE 
ROBBER CASTE 


CHAPTER II 
MADURA AND TRICHINOPOLY 


From Ramaswaram, where we disembarked from 
the Ceylon-India ferry, to Madura, the first mission 
to be visited, was a seven hours’ ride. Fr. Gomez, 
S.J., the pastor, was on hand to greet us. In a gay 
colored cart, drawn by two well-trained bullocks, we 
made our way to the rectory. It was a novel experi- 
ence. As the distance is short and the road good, 
this seemed quite a comfortable way of traveling. But 
there is a vast difference between smooth city streets 
and rough country roads, as J learned a week later. 
Madura is a historic old city with a population of 
134,000. The Jesuits went there in 1606. Many 
and varied are the vicissitudes through which this 
mission has 
passed. It now 
belongs to the 
diocese of Tri- 
chinopoly, 
which counts 
277,000 Cath- 
olics, over a 
fourth of whom 
are in the Ma- -xbi 
dura district. “wy A] 
The color = ©; pro Ba a 17 
scheme of In- THE GAY COLORED CART 


17 





18 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


dian dress seems to have invaded the house of the 
good Fathers. At first, I thought I was meeting a 
group of cardinals. The Jesuits here and throughout 
the diocese wear bright red birettas and sashes of the 
same color. Because of this contrast with their snow- 
white cassocks, they present a striking appearance. 
The custom is now of long standing and, we were 
told, impresses the natives. 

Progress seems to be the watchword of this mission. 
Among the members of the community we met a 
Fr. Prince, who aspires to nothing less than a Ford 
*“Motor Chapel.” The idea appealed to us also. 
As Fr. Prince has forty-nine schools to visit and, 
if his plan succeeds, will be able to say Mass 
in many small stations that otherwise would be 
visited but rarely, we felt he should be encouraged. 
Fr. Tom rather liked this plan to keep in touch 
with so many schools. As he is catholic in his 
sympathies, and hence does not confine his in- 
terests entirely to the schools of his own diocese, 
he volunteered to find a contribution among his 
own benefactors. I followed suit to the tune of one 
hundred dollars. 

On the morning after our arrival, which was 
Sunday, I said the quarter-to-seven Mass. There 
were a thousand present. Solid red seemed to be 
the predominating color of the women’s dress. Over 
this, they wore white shawls out of respect for the 
Sacramental Presence. My altar boys wore white 
eassocks (which fitted them), and neat, attractive 
red capes. 

There were about 300 Communions. For the first 
time I experienced what it meant to get the Host 


MADURA 19 


past the metal (gold or silver) 
pendants that hang from the 
women’s noses. A book might 
be written on the decorations 
worn by men, women (chiefly / 
the latter), and children in 
this pagan land. ! 
Earrings are almost univer- 
sal, being often of extraordi- 
nary form, size, and weight. 
Jewels set in the nose with little 
screws and nuts, or suspended 
from ie are very common. From ‘‘John L. Stoddard’s Lectures”’ 
Necklaces, of course, are quite ordinary. Rings are 
used to ornament the toes as well as the fingers. 
In the south, all natives go barefooted, even the 
Sisters. I have seen this as far north as Calcutta. 
Before leaving this ancient mission center, we 
found time to go through the old Tirumala Nayak 
Rajah’s Palace, now used as a courthouse. It is a 
relic of former splendor and was thirty-six years in 
building. Here is also the Great Temple, one of the 
most interesting Hindu shrines in India. It is sur- 
rounded by nine py- 
ramidal towers, each 
of which is decorated 
with tiers of pagan 
gods artistically 
carved. Its two most 
noted features are the 
“Hall of a Thousand 
Pillars,’’ and the ~al a 
a Tank of the Golden From ‘‘John L. Stoddard’s Lectures ”’ 








20 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


Lilies,’ where the devout were performing their re- 
ligious ablutions, regardless of us “‘outcast”’ visitors. 

It was in the see city of this diocese of Trichinopoly 
that we saw the center of the ecclesiastical activities 





CARVED FIGURES AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF A 
THOUSAND PILLARS 


of the extreme south of India. “Trichy,” as it is 
commonly called by the missionaries, is about five 
hours’ ride from Madura. We got there on Sunday 
night at nine o'clock. Fr. Planchard, the Vicar 
General and Superior of the mission, met us at the 
station. Bishop Faisandier was at his door to re- 


TRICHINOPOLY 21 


ceive us, notwithstanding the weight of his seventy 
years, half of which have been spent in India. His 
Lordship is a Jesuit. One hundred and fifty-five 
members of the Society of Jesus, some of whom are 
Indians, together with thirty native secular priests, 
make up the personnel of the diocese. 

As I look back at _. 
what we did by way 
of sightseeing (mis- 
sionary and other- 
wise) in this city, on 
the following day, I 
wonder how it was 
possible. We began 
with the Cathedral, 
which, of course, is 
within the compound, 
and wound up with a 
reception in the little 
village of Sommara- 
sumpaty, about five miles from the city, where a 
chapel is badly needed for a goodly group of fervent 
converts. Mass was being celebrated in a poor little 
shelter, very much in need of repair. It would not 
be worth $25.00 in our money. I promised to find 
a benefactor who would gladly give $500.00 for this 
purpose. The men (and women, too) will do all of 
the work. How these simple people did clap and 
salaam when the good news was announced! [I felt 
better for having been there. 

Receptions do not always mean that help is 
wanted. Sometimes they are a demonstration of 
gratitude. ‘There were three other welcomes on that 





BISHOP FAISANDIER 


Q2 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





FR. (NOW BISHOP) ROCHE (LEFT) AND HIS TWO REV. BROTHERS 


memorable day. Two were given by communities 
of native Sisters and the third by 300 bright little 
black children in the Holy Redeemer parish. The 
pastor, Fr. Roche, an Indian Jesuit, and his two 
assistants, who are native secular priests, care for 
almost 10,000 souls, many of whom are in the out- 
lying villages. 

For years this hustling, energetic priest has been 
corresponding with our office. His letters, written 
in perfect English and interspersed with wit, con- 
firmed my belief, based upon his name, that he was 
a son of the Emerald Isle. Lo and behold! when we 
were introduced to a native Indian, I could hardly 
believe my eyes. 

When we had left Trichy and were talking over 
those whom we had met, I remarked that when Rome 
was ready to appoint an Indian Bishop, Fr. Roche 
would surely be on the list. Soon after my return 
to Boston, letters from Bishop Faisandier and Fr. 
Roche announced the latter’s appointment as the 


TRICHINOPOLY 23 


first native Bishop of the Latin Rite. There have 
been several of the Syro-Malabar Rite, three of whom 
are now living. 

The ultimate solution of the mission problem is a 
native clergy. The only way to christianize a people 
is to raise up a priesthood that is indigenous. The 
pioneer work must be done by foreigners, but not 
until a nation has its own priesthood can the Church 
be said to be founded within its borders. Then, in 
the words of Benedict XV, in his Apostolic Letter, 
Maximum Illud, “‘If persecution ever threatens her 
existence, her roots and foundations will have struck 
too deep to give any chance of success to hostile 
attacks.” 

The establishment of a native clergy is one ques- 
tion. The psychological moment for handing over a 
diocese to them is another. And on this last point 
there is a diversity of opinion expressed by mis- 
sionaries. I heard this question discussed pro and 
con in Japan, Corea, China, Indo-China, and also 
in India; and among 
the many important 
matters upon which I 
sought and received 
information, none in- 
terested me as much as 
this. 

I visited many semi- 
naries and met anumber 
of native priests in the 
countries mentioned 


. above. Most favorable 
indeed is the impression AN INDIAN SEMINARIAN 





HY 
oA 2Ae\ Ae ae 


& . : “ & 





TRICHINOPOLY 25 


I carried away of the training given to the semi- 
narists, and of the excellent types of native priests 
everywhere. 

The Church is in her infancy in the Orient. The 
physical endurance and energy, the mental equip- 
ment and mentality of the Oriental are different 
from those of the Occidental; but in the words of 
Benedict XV: “Linked as he is by the bonds of 
origin, character, mentality, and inclinations to his 
compatriots, the native priest possesses extraordinary 
facilities for introducing the Faith into their minds, 
and is endowed with powers of persuasion far 
superior to those of men of other nations. It thus 
frequently happens that he has access where a foreign 
priest could not set foot.” 

“Ad multos annos”’ of service and sacrifice to 

Bishop Roche! His task is by no means an easy one. 
Not the least of his difficulties will be that of handling 
the caste problem. 

It was my good fortune to be in Trichy when 248 
members of the native Sisters of Our Lady of the 
Seven Dolors were gathered for their annual month 
(retreat and summer school) at the Mother House. 
They were to disperse in a few days to the outlying 
stations in different parts of this extensive diocese. 

Here for the first time I was “‘garlanded.”’ With 
a necklace of fragrant flowers, a bouquet in one hand, 
and a ripe lime in the other, I was seated on a plat- 
form. I learned later that this is the place where 
their daily Mass is said. In fact, this large room 
where the reception was held serves as chapel, re- 
fectory, and dormitory all in one. 

Never did I look upon a more happy, cheerful 


26 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 







group. They were 
all barefooted (even the 
Mother Superior), and sat upon 

the floor, which is of wood. I have 
since visited native convents where all the floors 
are of stone, brick, or even earth. The postulants 
were dressed in yellow, old-gold, red, or checkered 
saris, Just as before they entered. ‘There was abso- 
lutely no furniture in the room:except a small organ 
and a stool for the organist. 

Songs and an address made up the entertainment, 
allin’Tamil. Now and then 
I could catch my name. 
The refrain to the song of 
welcome was, ““May you 
come often and remain 
long!” I said a few words 
by way of acknowledgment, 
which were translated by 
Fr. Planchard. 

Besides this Order of 


native Sisters, who have 





TRICHINOPOLY Q7 


many schools and who teach catechism to women, 
there are the native Sisters of St. Ann (104 in all), 
who are widows without children. They have hos- 


Fe 


hs Rin THe 


vevivh 


FESS RTT TS 





‘TRICHY SHRINE AND SACRED POOL 
pitals, orphanages, refuges for women, catechumen- 
ates, and a few schools. Like the Sisters of the 
Seven Dolors, they wear a white habit with a long, 
black scapular. They also lead the simple life. I met 
three of them who are the protégées of a Boston 
benefactress. 

An industrial school, a normal school, and an 
orphanage for boys are in the compound. In another 
part of the city we visited St. Joseph’s College and 
High School, each with a thousand students, and 


KIOUONIHOINL “ADATION LINSAL “SLSITVGOS 





TRICHINOPOLY 29 


the Small Seminary, where 120 boys are preparing 
to enter the class of philosophy. In the college 650 
students are Catholic. It surprised me to learn that 
the boarders in the college and the Small Seminarists, 
like the Sisters of Our Lady, eat and sleep on the 
floor. 

Two celebrated pagan temples were on the day’s 
itinerary. One, the largest in India, is on the island 
of Sri Rangam, and is dedicated to Vishnu. The 
other was built in honor of Siva. Both Vishnu and 
Siva are Hindu gods. In Southern India they seem 
to have built their temples in pairs. Where there is 
one dedicated to Vishnu, you are sure to find another 
dedicated to Siva. 

Fr. Tom had already been through these sacred 
_ sanctuaries, as the poor pagans consider them; be- 
sides, he had business in the city, so he did not 
accompany me. Fr. Bertram, Prefect of Studies at 
St. Joseph’s, was my guide. He had just returned 
from an unsuccessful collecting tour in the United 
States. The island on which the Great Temple of Sri 
Rangam is located is the result of the division of the 
River Cauvery. It is reached by a bridge from the 
mainland. 

On our way to the Temple, we stopped at the house 
of a pagan graduate of St. Joseph’s. His father is a 
man of influence in this small but populous town of 
25,000 inhabitants. In company with this young 
fellow, whose unrestrained attitude towards the 
_ priest reminded me of the cordial relations between 
our own boys and their professors in Catholic colleges 
at home, we proceeded to the massive monument. 
It took us about half an hour to go about. 


30 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





We passed through a grand 
gateway forty-eight feet high, 
then along a passage lined 
with ornamented pilasters. 
Monoliths, forty feet high, 
support huge stones that form 
the roof. There is a vast outer 
wall which encloses the gar- 
dens and buildings. As atthe 
entrance to most Indian 
temples, the outer courtyard 
is used for a bazaar. Inside 
of this is a second wall twenty 
feet high, which encloses the 
dwellings of the Brahmins 
who serve the temple. 

The inner shrine, the most 
sacred spot, the real temple, is surrounded by still 
another wall. None but Hindus may enter here. 
Even this enclosure is not the last. There is one still 
more exclusive which contains the costly jewels of 
the temple. 

It is difficult to describe the impression of these 
really wonderful structures, which represent years of 
sacrifice and labor — and all to propagate and pro- 
mote the pagan practices which keep their poor 
benighted patrons in the clutches of Satan. 


TRICHINOPOLY 31 


On our way back to the college, we stopped at our 
cicerone’s home, as Fr. Bertram wanted to greet the 
boy’s father. Just before approaching the simple 
one-story house, we were instructed not to touch the 
old gentleman “as it is New Monday, and he is per- 
forming the religious rites of the Hindu.’ Were we 
to shake his hand, he would have to be purified from 
the contamination of contact with us outcastes and 
start all over again with his prayers and penances. 
The father was dressed in the simple one-piece native 
garment, and looked like a common laborer. Im- 
agine my surprise upon learning that he is worth 
15,000,000 rupees, about $5,000,000. 

It was a disappointment not to be able to visit 
the outlying districts where the Boston Office had 
built chapels, for Trichy has fared well in the appor- 
tionment of donations for this purpose. Of 302 
chapels constructed through the generosity of our 
benefactors, 12 have gone to this diocese. What a 
source of satisfaction it would have been to our kind 
donors, if upon ee > 
my return, I could ee 
have said to each, 
Ile saw your 
chapel and Fr. X 
wanted to be re- 
membered to 
you.” 

I desired par- 
ticularly to visit 
Vasadevanallur, 


f the 40 vil- eae Sis / So Pa ae 
one or t WHERE THERE IS NO CHAPEL, MASS IS OFTEN 
lages attached to CELEBRATED IN A STABLE LIKE THIS 





32 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


Sundaranchiapuram, from 
which Fr. Sabathe, S.J., 
directs his flock of 2793 souls. 
He has but 3 brick churches 
and 19 clay chapels. One of 
the brick structures was 
given in 1921, by two clients 
of St. Joseph. A word in 
passing about this offering 
may stimulate others to 
follow their example. 

; aes “Will you be in this 
MODEST MISSION CHAPE morning, Father?” This 
inquiry came over the ’phone on the Feast of St. 
Joseph. We thought we recognized the voice; when 
the name was given the answer shot back, ‘‘Of 
course, come right along.” There was a surprise 
in store for us —a bigger one than we expected. 
Mr. X brought along his brother whom we had 
never had the pleasure of meeting, but whose checks 
we had indorsed every week for some years. The 
younger man did most of the talking. What he said 
was to the point. ‘To-day is the 25th anniversary 
of our business. Dad started it under the protection 
of St. Joseph, to whom he always had great devotion, 
and the good Saint has been a most gracious Patron. 
Although labor troubles have come our way and we 
have done nothing for nine weeks, last year was a 
good one, and we thought this might be acceptable 
to Our Lord and St. Joseph as a thank offering.” 
This was a check for $1000. It was to build a 
mission chapel in honor of St. Joseph and has, we 
know, brought continued success to these devout, 





TRICHINOPOLY 33 


grateful, Catholic sons of an exemplary, Catholic 
father. | 

The weekly checks referred to are still coming to 
us. When Mr. X, Sr. died, the boys decided they 
would not remove his name from the pay roll. A 
check is drawn each week, not to him but to me, for 
Masses to be celebrated by a missionary for his 
soul. What a great thing is the Faith! 

Brief as were our visits to Madura and Trichi- 
nopoly, the impression, I feel, will be lasting. The 
Jesuits in this diocese are French. In Calcutta we 
saw the success of their Belgian confréres, and in 
Bombay the results obtained by the German mem- 
bers of this great Society. 





CHAPEL BUILT FOR $1,000 


CHAPTER III 


TANJORE, KUMBAKONAM AND 
CUDDALORE 


ACCORDING to my 
itinerary, after hav- 
ing seena little of the 
French Jesuit mis- 
sions in the diocese 
of Trichinopoly, I 
: s ' was to proceed di- 
rectly to foe of the Pari is Rereich Missions Society, 
in Kumbakonam. My energetic cicerone, however, 
had planned a few hours’ visit en route to Tanjore, 
which belongs to the diocese of Mylapore. I was 
glad of this little change, for 1% gave me an oppor- 
tunity of getting acquainted with the Italian Sale- 
sians, who have charge of this mission. 

An early start from “Trichy” at 6 a.m. got us to 
Tanjore at eight o’clock. The Superior, Fr. Meder- 
let, and one of his assistants, Fr. Tomatis, were on 








TANJORE 35 


hand to greet us. The reception at the station was 
tame in comparison with what awaited us at the 
mission compound. Nothing less than a band of 
fifteen pieces, ready to play all morning if we desired, 
rang out a hearty welcome. 

One of the specialties of the sons of Don Bosco 
is the care of orphan 
boys. Like their saint- 
ly founder, the Sale- 
sian Fathers gather in 
the homeless, teach ; 
them trades, and send |! 
them out into the |; 
world able to earn 
their living and care 
_ for themselves. 

St. Francis Xavier’s 
Orphanage and In- 
dustrial School, at 
Tanjore, is a new 
foundation, but we 
could see from the 
work already done 
that it has a bright future. Weaving and carpentry 
are the chief trades taught at present to the fifty-five 
boys in the institution. The Government has already 
recognized its merit and will soon help the Fathers 
replace the present poor workshops (merely thatched 
roofs supported by poles and exposed to the elements 
on all sides) with a substantial building. Lest the 
boys should have all the glory of receiving us, we were 
brought to the girls’ school, taught by eight native 
Sisters of Our Lady of Good Help. The little ones 





IN THE TANJORE PALACE 


36 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


danced and sang. The musical program began with 
‘After the Ball’? Gn Tamil), and ended with “God 
Save the King.” 

A month before our visit to Tanjore, a group of 
six Italian Sisters of Our Lady Help of Christians 
arrived. The youngest is but eighteen years of age. 
One could see at a glance that they were new recruits, 
as yet unaffected by the trying climate of Southern 
India. Good health, buoyant dispositions, and an 
optimistic outlook upon the work before them were 
written on their countenances. A new convent was 
prepared to receive them, 
but its chapel is quite 
devoid of statues, stations - 
of the cross, and other 
necessary furnishings, 
some of which I promised 
to secure for them. 

Although we had but 
five hours in Tanjore, the 
good Padres showed us 
the two principal pagan 
monuments of the city, 
as well as the mission 
compound. These are the 
Great Pagoda, one of the 
oldest and best preserved 
temples in southern In- 
dia, and the Palace of the 
Princes of ‘Tanjore. The 
library in the Palace has 
18,000 Sanskrit manu- 
scripts; 8000 are written 





KUMBAKONAM 37 





THE LEPERS’ CHURCH, KUMBAKONAM 


on palm leaves. As Fr. Tomatis helped to catalogue 
the French and German sections of the library, we 
had access to the old manuscripts. 

Just two hours after we had waved good-bye to 
the Salesian Padres from the train window, we were 
shaking hands in the Kumbakonam station with 
the Vicar General and the Procurator of the diocese, 
Msgr. Sovignet and Fr. Laplace. Bishop Chapuis 
greeted us at the rectory. As usual, we began by 
announcing the time of our departure (9:30 the fol- 
lowing morning), and were soon ready to be shown 
about the mission. 

His Lordship first took us to the Industrial School. 
Then we visited the mission hospital conducted by 


SdadaT AHL ONILVAUL SUALSIS 





KUMBAKONAM 39 


the Sisters Catechists of Mary Immaculate. From 
there we went to the Leper Asylum, cared for by two 
members of the same community, one French, the 
other Eurasian. I had been told beforehand that 
these two Sisters are themselves lepers. From their 
appearance and conversation, one would never sus- 
pectit. They brought us through the various depart- 
ments and told us interesting, touching stories of 
conversions made in the home. 

Most of the patients who enter as pagans die 
Catholics. Many come here from other asylums in 
order that they may pass their last days in its 
Catholic atmosphere, and receive baptism. Some 
leave and return when they feel the end is near. It 
will surprise my readers to learn that it is not re- 
_ quired by Indian law for lepers to be isolated. One 
of the Sisters told me that there are in the country 
350,000 persons afflicted with the disease, only a 
small per cent. of whom are in leper homes. 

I left the Lazaretto with a feeling of satisfaction 
that this institution and these very Sisters, martyrs 
of charity, have been for some years on the list of 
those assisted by Boston benefactors and friends of 
the missions. On our way back to the rectory we 
stopped at the convent and novitiate of these 
Catechist Sisters. After a talk with the entire com- 
munity, including the two leper Sisters (they live in 
the Lazaretto, but assist at Mass and Benediction 
in the central convent), I was shown the chapel. On 
the wall is a marble tablet in memory of a Bos- 
ton family that contributed generously toward its 
erection. 

Besides fifteen Indian nuns who belong to the 


40 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


A PRIEST WHO HAS CONTRACTED LEP- 
ROSY AND IS BEING TREATED BY 
THE SISTERS 





Catechists of 
Mary Immacu- 
late, there is a 
native commun- 
ity in this diocese, 
called the Sisters 
of the Holy and 
Immaculate Heart 
of Mary. They 
number ninety 
and are in charge 
of schools and 
orphanages. 

In the diocese 
of Kumbakonam, 
there are a little 
over 100,000 
Catholics. The 
European priests 
(thirty-three) are 
members of the 
Paris Foreign 
Missions Society. 
They are assisted 


by fourteen native secular priests. 

The next morning I said Mass in the convent for 
the Sisters and novices. After breakfast, Bishop 
Chapuis and Fr. Laplace accompanied us to the 


train, which left at 9:30. 


At two o’clock that afternoon we arrived at Cud- 
dalore, the first station in the diocese of Pondicherry, 
to which Fr. Tom belongs. I have already remarked 
that my guide did not slight his own diocese in the 


CUDDALORE 41 


selection of missions to be visited. This will be seen 
from what follows. 

As he is Supervisor of Schools and has to travel 
long distances in making his rounds, last year he 
purchased a Ford. He is an expert at the wheel — 
but what of the roads, what of the fields to be 
traversed, what of the streams to be “forded,” and 
the ditches to : be crossed? I 
was glad that “Henry” is not 
baeiEtal Onw ae Lt avoided many a 
high center. 

We weremetby Fr. Verdure, Pres- 
ident of St. Jo- ~  seph’s Secondary 
School for Boys, and Fr. Loubieére, 
one of his staff. After lunch in the station restaurant 
(it was two o'clock when we arrived), we stepped 
into “Henry,” and off we were to the missions. 
Our visit was brief. We saw St. Joseph’s College, 
with 1300 boys, met the native Sisters of the Im- 








FATHERS AT CUDDALORE WITH SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH OF CLUNY 


42 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


maculate Heart of Mary, who number 340 in the 
diocese, and the European Sisters of St. Joseph of 
Cluny. At 4:30 we were on our way to Pondicherry. 

In the vicinity of Cuddalore is the village of 
Devanampatnam, through which we passed. Here 
St. Francis Xavier was one day seen elevated 
above the platform of the altar, while celebrating 
Mass. 





SATURDAY AFTERNOON 


CHaprer IV 


PONDICHERRY, TINDIVANAM, AND GINGEE 


NowueEkrkE did I receive a warmer welcome than from 
Archbishop Morel, of Pondicherry. His Grace, 


genial and gracious by nature, made me feel at home 





REV. T. GAVAN DUFFY, M.Ap., AND MOST REV. E. J. MOREL, D.D. 


from the very moment of my arrival. His kindness, 

moreover, in allowing Fr. ‘Tom to accompany me during 

my Indian tour of six weeks, added much to the pleas- 

ure and profit of my visit to this interesting country. 

I had now been but six full days in Ceylon and 
43 


44 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


India. During this time we saw seven missions in 
five different dioceses. Four nights had been spent 





BOSTON HAS PUT 15 STUDENTS THROUGH THE PONDY SEMINARY 


traveling. What a pace! Could I keep it up? We 
never know what we can do until we try. Normally 
speaking, a pace like this would be disastrous, even 
in one’s own country where one is used to the food, 
climate, and accommodations. For travel’s sake 
alone one would not attempt such a program. But 
I was not out for pleasure. I came in the interest of 


PONDICHERRY 45 


my work, and felt that He Whose cause was at stake 
would protect me. 

Up to the present (I am now crossing the Arabian 
Sea, two days out from Bombay), I feel “‘quite fit,” 





PONDICHERRY CATHEDRAL 


as my English fellow passengers would say. I might 
add that the most strenuous part of the Indian trip 
did not start until after I had left “‘Pondy.” 
Pondicherry is one of five small French establish- 
ments in India. It is administered by a Governor 
and Privy Council and has a population of about 
50,000. ‘This includes 1000 French and twice that 
number of mixed descent. The five French pos- 
sessions in India cover less than 200 square miles and 
count a little over a quarter of a million natives. 


46 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


The diocese of Pondicherry is mostly under English 
government. It has 150,000 souls, and only a sixth 
of these are in French territory. As Fr. Tom wanted 
to show me a few types of missions in the interior, 
we devoted but one day to the city itself. According 
to my original itinerary, I was to give three days to 
Pondicherry and spend Christmas with the Mill Hill 
Fathers in Madras. This plan was changed, how- 
ever, in order that I might say Midnight Mass in a 
chapel built from the proceeds of the “ Workers Are 
Few,’ my first translation from the Italian of the 
Rey. Paolo Manna, M.Ap. 

Churches, schools, convents, a college with a 
thousand boys, and a printing press occupied my 


time in “Pondy.” 


reception and I 
dination. With 
bishop Morel, 
the four commu- 
in the city. One 
was established 
of its twenty-one 
dian. The other, 
St. Aloysius, is 





The seminarists gave me a 


assisted at an or- 
His Grace, Arch- 
I visited two of 
nities of nuns 
is Carmelite. It 
in 1710, and all 
members are In- 
the Sisters of 
also native. 


Last impressions are usually the strongest. It 
may be that I witnessed greater need and privation 
elsewhere, for God knows I have seen enough of both, 
but, as I look back over my entire trip, I cannot re- 
call a simpler, more poverty-stricken, more destitute 
convent than that of the Sisters of St. Aloysius. We 
went first into the parlor. Parlor! It is a little, 
dingy room, with absolutely no furniture. When 
visitors come, they sit on the floor, and the Sister 


PONDICHERRY 47 


who receives them does likewise. In the community 
room (and be it noted that this is the mother-house) 
the bare-footed nuns sat on straw mats at our feet. 
The whole convent was damp and dreary. What 
must it be during the rainy season! I StrrRoNGLY 
RECOMMEND THIS CONVENT TO GENEROUS SOULS 
ABLE TO Assist THESE Nuns. They are also Ter- 
tiaries of St. Francis. This fact may have a bearing 
upon their patience in enduring such dire poverty: 






CHURCH AT TINDIVANAM, EDUCATIONAL HEADQUARTERS OF 
PONDICHERRY MISSION (Dedicated Sept. 8, 1925) 


Fr. Tom lives in a town called Tindivanam, north- 
west of Pondicherry. The road is good; we made it 
in an hour and a half. This included a delay at the 
frontier, for it is in English territory. We had to pay 
duty on a few miniature oxcarts which we had 
purchased in Ceylon. ‘Tindivanam! How many 
times I had seen the postmark and addressed letters 
to that place! Was I disappointed? Yes, but 


48 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





NURSING SISTERS 
who in 25 years at Tindivanam have treated over 1,000,000 patients 


happily so. In fact, I met with a surprise. I refer 
to the house of the good missionary, not the town, 
for I had never formed any very definite picture of 
Tindivanam itself. 

Those who are acquainted with Fr. Tom know 





BROTHERS OF ST. GABRIEL, TINDIVANAM 


TINDIVANAM 49 





that he is original. Readers of Hope must have re- 
marked this. It might be noted in passing that he 
is the only member of the great Paris Foreign Mis- 
sions Society whose mother tongue is English. In a 
word, he does, as well as says, the unexpected. 

The building in question is a combination of office 
and. home. There are five rooms, all on the same 
floor: living-room (for day and night), dining-room, 
chapel, guest-room, and office. The latter is neces- 
sary, as Fr. Tom is in charge of the schools of the 
diocese. He himself drew the plans for the building, 
and when completed it will be a most attractive 
bungalow. Its chief charm lies in the fact 
that it is both cool and airy, and hence 
suited to the climate. Would that all 
missionaries could follow this example, 
that is, build comfortable, modest houses 
where they might enjoy a little well- 
earned rest when they return from long 
and exhausting trips through their 
districts! 

But why can they not all make 
such provisions for their physical 
well-being? I can see the mission- 
aries, whose eyes may perchance 









50 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


rest upon these lines, smile and pass the book from 
one to another with the observation: “‘See what this 
good American, who comes from the land of crea- 
ture comforts and plenty of money, has to say about 
us!” 

I am well aware that I got only a kaleidoscopic 
view of the missions. I know that these zealous, 
thrifty priests have been on the ground for years, 
that they have traditions born of experience; and for 
this very reason I realized that the chief advantage 
of my trip would be what I learned from the lips of 
missionaries rather than what I observed in my all 
too brief stay among them. 

My claim, however, is that most missionaries 
neglect themselves as far as food and housing are 
concerned; that many would be in better health if 
they had a little more solicitude for themselves; that 
some whose careers were short would be alive to-day, 
had they been provided with better houses and, at 
least, some care. Is this possible? In most cases, 
no. It is absolutely out of the question, for the 
means are not to be had. ‘The priests who are in 
large centers, whether teaching in colleges and 
schools or caring for souls, are well provided for in 
every way. But the majority of missionaries are not 
living under such conditions. They are in the bush, 
the jungle, or in small villages where even good bread 
is a luxury. 

At Tindivanam we planned to rest a few days and 
do some writing, but, as there are various missionary 
activities there, we had little leisure. We went 
through the orphanage, industrial school, teachers’ 
training school (for masters), and St. Ann’s boarding 


GINGEE 51 





TRAINING SCHOOL AND ST. ANN’S TINDIVANAM 

school, where a preparatory course is given to future 
catechists. How much all this costs, yet how im- 
portant! We also visited the girls’ school, con- 
ducted by two European and five Indian Sisters of 
St. Joseph of Cluny. 

On Sunday morning, at 7:30, we were off in the 
Ford, bag and baggage, for what proved to be a most 
interesting experience. A little after nine we made 
our first stop at a town called Gingee. I shall never 
forget it. We did not go directly to the mission, for 
Gingee has a famous and historic old fort that visitors 
must see. It comprises three strongly fortified hills, 
connected by long walls. The highest and most 
important (six hundred feet) affords an excellent 
view of the surrounding country. On its summit 
stand the ruins of the citadel. — 

Fr. Chavanol, the Pastor or GINGEE AND 
OF SEVENTY-FIVE NEIGHBORING VILLAGES, very 


52 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





thoughtfully ar- 
ranged with the town 
authorities to have 
chairs and carriers 
provided for the 
steep and difficult 
ascent. Unfortu- 
nately, but one chair 
arrived. Of course, 
I had to take it. It 
wasa godsend. Never 
did I suffer from the 
heat as on that day. 

When the six 
bearers landed me 


on the wooden bridge wae spans a deep chasm be- 
tween the approach and the citadel, I breathed a 
sigh of relief. The ruins of the ancient stone pago- 
das and the panorama on four sides repaid us for 


our effort. After a 
light lunch, which we 
had brought with us, 
we started down the 
rugged road. Safety 
demanded that I be 
earried backwards. 
When we reached 
the mission, we were 
so exhausted that 
both of us went to 
bed. 

In the *‘ Catechist 
of Kil-Arni,”’ an ex- 





GOING UP 


cellent seven-reel 
photoplay by Fr. 
Tom, one sees to 
good advantage the 
work done in the 
schools of Tindiva- 
nam. The fort at 
Gingee and its dan- 
gerous, rugged ap- 
proach have a 
prominent place in 
the picture. This is 
the first mission 
scenario with a sus- 
tained story woven 


and Canada. 


GINGEE 





he ih 


COMING DOWN 


into it ever exhibited. There 
are ten copies in circulation in the United States 


Bookings may be made through the 


Boston Office of The Society for the Propagation 





. THE CATECHIST OF Kk 








— 


ILsAR 





of the Faith. 

Fr. Chavanol’s 
record is perhaps 
unique. He was a 
doctor before enter- 
ing the Paris Foreign 
Missions Seminary. 
Through his knowl- 
edge of medicine, he 
has made many con- 
versions. Even the 
pagan priests come 
to him for treatment. 
For twenty-five 


years, aS missionary 





A VOTIVE STEED OUTSIDE PAGAN TEMPLE, GINGEE 


GINGEE 55 


in Sittamur, he lived in the sacristy of his church. 
A more devoted and Self-sacrificing priest one could 
not imagine. Turrty Douuars A YEAR will supply 
him with the medicine he dispenses, yet, at times, 
it is hard for him to accumulate even this small sum! 

From a religious point of view, too, Gingee has a 
history. About three hundred years ago it was one 
of the out-stations attended by the celebrated and 
saintly Jesuit, Fr. John de Britto. In those days, it 
was the northern limit of the old “‘Madura Mission,” 
conducted by the Society of Jesus. As the fort fell 
into disuse, the early population gradually dis- 
appeared. ‘Today there is not a vestige of the old 
town or of the Christians of Fr. de Britto. 





BOUND FOR DR. CHAVANOL’S DISPENSARY 


CHAPTER V 
SATTIAMANGALAM 


Ir did not seem like Christmas Eve as we sped along 
the high road from Gingee. to Sattiamangalam, 
where I was soon to get my first view of the “‘ Workers 
Are Few” Chapel. It was hot and dusty. A little 
relief, however, was found in the shade of the large 
trees that protected us from the burning rays of an 
Indian sun. 

There was diversion, too, in watching the playful 
monkeys swinging from the trees. They are bold 
and fearless in this land of mystery and of myriads 
of gods. No one would dare to molest one of these 
mischievous animals, even if it were to enter one’s 
house and steal food, or cause damage, as often 
happens. 





A HAUNT OF MONKEYS 
56 


SATTIAMANGALAM 5% 


There is even a “monkey god” called Hanuman, 
the ally of the great god Rama. According to Hindu 
mythology, when Rama’s wife, Sita, was stolen by the 
king of Ceylon, she was rescued by the help of Hanu- 
man, the monkey general, and his army of monkeys. 

At railroad stations I have seen dozens of these 
amusing creatures, large and small, come to meet 
the train. They are fed by the passengers, who, 
believing in the transmigration of souls, feel that 
they may be doing a charity to some dead ancestors. 
The Hindu religion teaches that there are 8,400,000 
different species of animals through 
which the soul of man may pass. 

After riding about an hour, we 
came to a little grove which marks 
the entrance to the village. Await- 
ing our arrival was a group of 
happy youngsters. In their midst 
was a bullock bandy. Its driver, 
L’Aristo, gave us a profound sa- 
laam. Stroking his white Dun- 
dreary whiskers and adjusting his 
bandana turban, with a graceful 
wave of his arms he invited us to 
mount the cart. The boys soon 
had our suitcases on their heads 
and led the way to the chapel. 

Between the grove and the vil- 
lage is a large water tank, a prim- 
itively constructed reservoir for 
irrigating the rice fields. L’Aristo, 
proud of his distinguished passen- 
gers, laid the whip on the willing 





58 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


bullocks and 
off we dashed 
through the shal- 
lowest ford of the 
great tank. Be- 
fore reaching the 
other shore, an- 
other crowd of 
boys had waded 
out to meet us. 
Then the fun 
began. 

Ourarrivalhad 
evidently been 
announced, for 
we could hear the report of firecrackers. Men, 
women, and children gathered on the edge of the 
pond and escorted us to the center of the village. 
Fifes and tom-toms supplied the music, if such 
it may be called. We knew that we were in for a 
night of it. ) 

From the tank to the chapel is not more than 
an eighth of a mile. It took us twenty minutes to 
make it. One drum major after another performed 
before us. -Never did we see such gyrations and 
contortions. Finally they all acted together, threw 
their staffs up in the air and down in the dust, 
and wound up with a sort of sham battle, just 
as we reached the chapel. 

There is no resident priest at Sattiamangalam, 
although its inhabitants (600 pariahs or outcastes) are 
all Catholics. They are attended from Vellantangal, 
about four miles away, where Fr. Tom started his 





FROM THE TANK TO THE CHAPEL 





SATTIAMANGALAM 59 


missionary life in India. The present pastor, Fr. 
Lamathe, received us at the chapel door. 

Great indeed was my delight at the sight of this 
beautiful structure. Its style is Gothic. Brick and 
mortar have been used throughout, and it has a 
cement floor and a cement platform before each of 
the three entrances. It accommodates about 600 
people, sitting on the floor, as is their custom. 

The expense of construction was but 6000 rupees 
(about $2000). I marvel how it could be built for 
such a small sum. Fr. Tom said that the contribu- 





THE “WORKERS ARE FEW” CHAPEL 


tion of labor from the parishioners, who carried the 
brick and mortar, saved about $600. 

Before it grew dark we took pictures of the chapel. 
Then Fr. Tom and Fr. Lamathe heard confessions. 


60 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


I read my breviary and incidentally gave much 
amusement to an admiring throng. These good, 
simple people are just grown-up children. 

After supper, two acetylene lamps, which had 
been hired for the occasion in Pondicherry, were 





FR. TOM’S BAND 


placed on either side of the platform in front of the 
church. Then the reception started. 

First of all, the three of us were garlanded with 
necklaces of fragrant flowers. This is an Indian 
custom. Then the presents were brought forth: 
bread, potatoes, bananas, rice, eggs, limes, and —a 
ram. ‘The poor animal protested vehemently, as 
only those of his species can, but finally was landed 
at my feet. Not being able to hold him, I com- 
missioned the headman of the village to take him in 
charge. Mr. Ram stayed, however, for the entire 
ceremony. 

‘The next number was a torchlight procession. 
When the participants arrived at the church, a space 
was cleared and four men performed a spear dance. 
At first their motions were slow and solemn; then 


SATTIAMANGALAM 61 


the music became more lively; the motions quickened 
with the beating of the tom-toms; the bronze bodies 
of the actors were covered with perspiration, they 
crossed spears, and the dance finished in a spirited 
sham battle which seemed so real to me that I asked 
Fr. Lamathe to stop it. 

The abrupt finish of the dance was followed by a 
brief intermission. I could see that the directors of 
the entertainment were somewhat confused. Was it 
my fault? Should I have given the order, “On with 
the dance?” “No,” said the pastor, “they are wait- 
ing for one of the schoolboys, who is to read an 
address.” 

Soon the youthful orator appeared, much to the 
amusement of all present. He was a little fellow of 
about ten. A mustache, which fell off in the middle 
of his speech of welcome, and a huge turban helped 
him to act his part. 





BORN ORATORS 


In a clear voice and with good enunciation, he told 
me how happy they all were to have me among 
them. Gratitude for the wonderful chapel they had 
received was couched in well chosen phrases. ‘They 
hoped I would ‘“‘come often and stay long.” This 


62 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


contcenecmnencmncete eae tm 








ST. ANTHONY’S SCHOOL, SATTIAMANGALAM 


last reminded me of the receptions in China 
when they invited me to “come often and go away 
slowly.” 

Fr. Tom answered in Tamil, telling them that the 
beautiful structure was not only to be admired but 
used; that it was to bring them closer to Almighty 
God and to help them to be good in order that they 
might enjoy eternal happiness with Him in the 
world to come. 

When the “Workers Are Few”’ first appeared, I 
promised the purchasers that the entire proceeds 
should be devoted to the missions. It took several 
years before I could fulfill the contract. My patience 
has been rewarded. ‘The chapel is the prettiest I 
have seen anywhere in the countries I have visited. 
Our pictures came out well, and I hope they will 





: uae? : . be" LA 8 tis N i ales 
SAINTS (WE HOPE) AND SCHOLARS 


SATTIAMANGALAM 63 


please those who helped me to publish four editions 
of the book. 

The same pledge has been made in regard to my 
second book, “‘’The Conversion of the Pagan World.”’ 
Its sale has been even more encouraging than that of 
the “Workers Are Few.”’ The financial profits from 
these two treatises on the missions are quite insig- 
nificant in comparison with the spiritual good that 
we trust has come from their circulation. 

It is to make known the Church’s apostolate 
to the heathen, to secure vocations, prayers, and 
financial assistance that these translations have been 
made. We are not, at the same time, unmindful of 





PRACTISING THE “STAR SPANGLED BANNER” IN TAMIL 


the blessings that God is visibly giving us, who have 
the Faith, for our endeavors to share it with others. 

After this welcome, we all retired to the school, 
where an entertainment was staged, consisting of 


64 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


drills and songs by the school children. The last 
number on the program was, indeed, a delightful 
surprise. I must confess that my mind had been 
wandering a bit while the little ones had been per- 
forming. In fact, it had traveled away back home 
to Boston when — suddenly there burst upon my 
astonished ears the familiar strains of our own “Star 
Spangled Banner” in the Tamil tongue, of course, 
but sung with as much spirit and energy as I had 
ever heard it at home. I could not believe my ears, 
but it was really so; those little Indian children were 
singing my own national anthem. It was the prettiest 
compliment paid me during my entire trip. 

After Fr. Tom and I had distributed candy to 
the little ones, the festivities were brought to a 
fitting close by the rendering on the phonograph of 
those grand old Christmas hymns, known the world 
over. As [I listened to the familiar strains of “‘ Adeste 
Fideles”’ and “ Holy Night,” once again my thoughts 

traveled homeward. 
I recalled the Christmas 
Eves of my youth, in 
the midst ofa 


happy 









THE BABY CHRIST HAS BROTHERS EVERYWHERE 


i 


SATTIAMANGALAM 65 
Catholic household; 


of my seminary days 
in Rome; of my early 
years in the priest- 
hood at St. Paul’s, 
Cambridge; and of 
ten more at the Ca- 
thedral in Boston, 
whither flock great 
crowds of worshipers 
from all over the 
city to attend the _ oo £3 , 
Midnight Mass. CHRISTMAS MORNING BRINGS ITS 
Tne aemet hon chi OWN TROUBLES 

were a good preparation for what was to follow. 

A little before twelve, I blessed the chapel. During 
my first Mass there were several hundred at Holy 
Communion. Others went later. The chapel 
was crowded at all three Masses. Fr. Lamathe went 
home to Vellantangal to sing Midnight Mass for his 
own people. Fr. Tom said his three Masses on a 
side altar. 

The devotion of these simple people is most edify- 
ing, especially to one who has been preaching about 
it for years. Mothers with laughing babies straddling 
their hips (this is the custom in India), old men 
with turbans and flowing robes, bright-eyed, dark- 
skinned boys and girls closely resembling those that 
I have shown in illustrated lectures — all contributed 
to make the picture impressive and memorable. 

It is on such an occasion as this that the mis- 
sionary must feel that, indeed, he has “chosen the 
better part.” What do all the trials and hardships, 





66 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


the sacrifices and privations, the separation from 
home and dear ones, and all else that he has given 
up amount to, when he stops to realize that without 
a doubt many and many of the happy souls that he 
has just fed with the Body and Blood of Christ would 
be celebrating the feast of some heathen god or god- 





FINAL PICTURE IN MIDDLE OF RESERVOIR 


dess this very Christmas night, had he not had the 
courage to leave all and follow the Master! 

Silence is no sign of reverence in the Far East. 
Even during the Holy Sacrifice one is apt to be dis- 
tracted by the most unexpected surprises. During 
the Consecration a bomb was discharged just out- 
side the door, and at each Elevation the entire con- 


SATTIAMANGALAM 67 


gregation cried out at the top of their voices. After 
Mass, I learned that they were merely shouting the 
ejaculation, “My Lord and my God!” 

When all was over, our shakedowns were prepared 
in the school, a low-studded building of one room, 
and from three o’clock until seven we rested and 
slept at intervals. After breakfast, we busied our- 
selves with our cameras. At 9:30 L’Aristo helped 
us into the bullock bandy. In the middle of the 
reservoir a final picture was snapped, and in a few 
minutes Michael was cranking up for a short run 
to Vellantangal. 





PREPARING THE BOMBS 


CHAPTER VI 


VELLANTANGAL, BUDAMANGALAM, CHETPUT, 
ARNI AND VELLORE 


ON our way from Sattiamangalam 
to Vellantangal, Fr. Lamathe’s 
main station, we had many a good 
laugh. The customs and costumes 
of simple village folk, like those 
who live about the ‘“ Workers Are 
Few” Chapel, are quite in contrast 
even with those of the larger In- 
dian villages. But there was a fair 
exchange. ‘They had never before 
seen an American priest. His 
smooth face and parted hair caused 
no little comment. They were sur- 
prised that he could not talk their 
language nor understand the words 
of welcome and thanks that they 
had spoken to him. Almost the 
only white man they ever see is 
their missionary. 

In an hour we were sitting in Fr. 
Lamathe’s house. What an hour 
that was! The notes I have before 
me read, “ Left Ford at V : 
lucky to get it there.” It is won- 

68 








SYUMLSIS ONIHOVAL NVOIYANV FO SHOMTYOVS 
AHL AG LWA ‘SNON NVIGNI WOU “IVONVINVITAA ‘LNGANOO SITIGVUINGVY YALVN 





70 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


derful, indeed, what one can do and where one 
ean go with a “Tin Lizzie.” (This name is used in 
India as well as in the U. S. A.) The road was 
rough. We forded gullies with water up to the 
engine, went through plowed fields and over rocks. 
I thought this was bad. Fr. Tom smiled. “Cheer 
up,” he said, “‘the worst is yet to come.” He was 
right, and he proved it to me the following day. The 
“wear and tear” of missionary life in the country 
part of India is no mere figure of speech. 

Vellantangal has an old, but substantial church 
in the form of a four-leafed clover, a good school, a 
new convent, and a fine house. The house was built 
by Fr. Tom when he was pastor there. He paid for 
it with his own money. It is by no means elaborate, 
but far more comfortable than most that I have seen. 

When I learned that the priest in charge of this 
station has, besides two sub-stations (one of which 
is Sattiamangalam), twenty-five villages (two with 
chapels), I felt as I did in Tindivanam, after seeing 
Fr. Tom’s new house, namely, that a good, comfort- 
able home is not a luxury for a tired missionary who 
spends so much of his time in the saddle. Alas, how 
few actually have it! 

With the exception of the church services and the 
Crib, there was little to remind us of Christmas. 
Among the many stories I had heard from mission- 
aries who visited the Boston Office, one in particular 
came to my mind. It was about a young mis- 
sionary’s first Christmas away from the Seminary. 
He missed very keenly the solemn ceremonies, the 
exchange of greetings, the simple but welcome gifts, 
the cool, bracing air, and even the festive board. 


VELLANTANGAL ral 


As I sat 
on the ve- 
randa in a 
Caen aes 
“morris ey : 
chair” with [RBWAG oa 
a fan in one g ES 





hand and a 
fly-swatter 

in the other, eM 
gazing out : sia ads ano 
ara tiga Re ST. PATRICK’S SCHOOL, VELLANTANGAL 


Re-roofing After a Cyclone 


parched 

fields, I understood better than ever before the lack 
of companionship, the loneliness of missionary life. 
This is perhaps one of the hardest trials of the young 
priest. Had we not dropped in on good Fr. Lamathe, 
he would have celebrated the Feast alone. 

My energetic guide intended to leave for the next 
mission immediately after dinner. His tenderfoot 
visitor had to plead for mercy. I could not stand 
the pace. The strain of the day before, followed by 
but four hours’ sleep in a stuffy little schoolroom, 
was too much for me. So we decided to spend 
Christmas night with Fr. Lamathe and get an early 
start the next morning. 

The gift of the new chapel at Sattiamangalam had 
evidently been discussed in Vellantangal, for during 
supper a delegation arrived to petition for a new 
church there also. When the frugal meal was over, 
we went out on the veranda. Half the town was 
there. Indians never get down to business at once. 
Sometimes they talk an hour before springing the 


72 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


request. Often it is just as they are about to leave 
you that they mention it. 

They began by presenting me with a goat. ““Now 
I have a pair,” I thought to myself. I even had 
visions of seeing them hitched to some kind of a 
vehicle for our trip on the morrow. But Fr. Tom 
put a crimp in the meeting by asking the spokesman 
to come to the point at once. He then refused the 
gift and sent them home, saying that enough had 
been done for the district. 

“Poor people!” thought I. He seemed to me 
rather harsh with them. I learned afterwards that 
it was a reproof for an act of disobedience of which 
they had been guilty sometime previous. When 
I heard the circumstances, I saw immediately that 
he was right. I also realized that these simple souls 
are like children and must be treated as such. 





CALISTHENICS 


BUDAMANGALAM 73 


About an hour after 
I had retired, I was glad 
that goat number two 
had not been accepted; 
for William the First 
(presented to me at 
Sattiamangalam on 
Christmas Eve) was tied 
just outside my window. es ey 
He made so much FR. BOYER IN HIS CART 
noise that I could not 
sleep. Evidently others were disturbed as well, for, 
after a restless hour, I heard some one untying 
him and leading him away. 

The next morning, just as the clock struck nine, we 
were climbing into L’Aristo’s bullock cart. Shall I 
—ever forget the three hours that followed! When I 
look back upon that morning, I do not wonder that 
we left “Henry”? behind. Not even he, with his 
wonderful adaptability, could keep the nine miles of 
track we covered on our way to Budamangalam, the 
“Village of the Devil.” This place is well named. The 
mission was started by Fr. Boyer, the present pastor, 
in 1905. There was not a Catholic in the place. 
Now, after seventeen years, he can count 115 families 
throughout his district — all pariahs or outcastes. 

This is the history of many a flourishing district. 
I have heard the same story from other missionaries. 
It recalled the visit to Boston of Bishop Bertreux, 
late Vicar Apostolic of the Solomon Islands. He 
told me about the Island of Wallis, in Oceania, 
where a priest spent many years without making a 
single convert. Now, Wallis has a flourishing con- 





aa 


74 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


gregation of Christians and a convent of devoted, 
native Sisters. 

Fr. Boyer has introduced the “‘Gospel of the 
Plow.” Agriculture is his instrument of conversion. 
He brought in a few caste families from another 
village and hopes to leaven the mission in this way. 

During the “‘flu,”’ sixty of his eighty souls at head- 
quarters were stricken. He recommended the village 
to the Little Flower and not one death occurred. The 
good converts prayed to this powerful intercessor 
and their petitions were answered. I have heard 
of other districts that were spared in the same way. 

What a difference between Fr. Boyer’s house and 
the one where we spent the previous night! His has 
but tworooms. The floor is of earth. The furniture 
could hardly be simpler. Two dogs and four cats 
share these humble quarters with their master. 

After dinner, we piled into the bullock bandy 
again. A ride of fifteen miles brought us to Chetput, 
where we spent the night. It was dark when we ar- 
rived, but the pastor, Fr. Colas, was out with a 
lantern to meet us. The ringing of the church bells 
helped to put a 
little pep and 
warmth into 
the welcome. 

Neither Fr. 
Tom nor I was 
SOLLY sO eb1id 
good-bye to the 
eart. Twenty- 
five miles in one 





THE GOSPEL OF THE PLOW day was a little 





FR. COLAS IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH BUILT BY HIS PREDECESSOR AT CHETPUT 


76 





REV. J. F. DARRAS 


who died in 1916, spent more than 50 
unbroken years in India, baptized over 
40,000 people, and carved out of an en- 
tirely pagan region the parish of Chetput, 
where he built the church shown on the 
previous page 

from a small personal in- 
heritance. 

~ On the following day, we 
changed our conveyance 
again. It was quite in con- 
trast with the cart and 
slow bullocks. In fact, I 
had my first ride in a “side 
ear.” Our objective was 
a village called Arni, six- 


teen miles away. ‘This is 


the Kail-Arni that gives the. 


title to Fr. Tom’s most 


interesting photoplay, 
“The Catechist of Kil- 


MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


too much, at least for me. 
Inthe afternoon, wemade 
almost five miles an hour, 
much better time than in 
the morning. Of course, 
this did not add to our 
comfort. 

Fr. Colas had no dif- 
ficulty in putting us up 
for the night. He has 
three rooms in all, quite 
enough, he felt, for a lone 
missionary. His house is 
well built and cost the 
mission nothing, as he 
defrayed the expenses 





The people of Chetput are faithful to 


the memory of Fr. Darras and pray 

fervently at his grave. There is a great 

pilgrimage at Chetput every year Mm 
honor of Our Lady of Lourdes 


KIL-ARNI 77 


Arni,” which has received such a warm and enthu- 
siastic welcome wherever it has been exhibited. 





It took us an hour and three-quarters to cover 
the sixteen miles to this village. Rather slow time 
for a motor cycle, I’ll admit. We should have 
reached it much sooner, had it not been for an 
accident. ‘The gasoline was escaping and we were 
in danger of fire. Fr.'Tom tried every nut and screw 
in the vicinity of the leak, but to no avail. The 
sun was beating down on us with such force that the 
wet towel I had placed under my helmet for double 
protection to my neck had thoroughly dried. As 
no bullocks could be found to haul us back to Chet- 


78 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


put, it looked like a return on foot. Suddenly I 
thought of good St. Anthony, and I had no sooner 
promised to say some Masses in his honor when — 
Fr. Tom touched a little valve and the leak stopped. 
With a smile of satisfaction, he cranked her up again 
and off we went. 





We had another delay in crossing the Che River. 
_ The water was too high to operate the car. For a 
rupee (thirty-three cere) a group of boys pushed us 
to the other side. Just as we were emerging from 
the clear, shallow water, one of us got the idea that 
we should record the experience on our films. The 
result was very good. The graceful folds of the 
towel hanging down over my neck and shoulders 
made me look like a Bedouin. 

As we had planned to spend the night at another 
mission, our stay at Kil-Arni was brief. Its good 
pastor, Fr. Gravére, who lives the simple life, did his 
best to prepare a good dinner. He was a wine 
merchant in France before entering the Paris Foreign 
Missions Society. Although his early occupation 


KIL-ARNI 79 





KIL-ARNI CHURCH 


was not reflected in the beverage he set before us, 
he sent us away satisfied. 

Kil-Arni is but one of sixty-one villages under the 
care of this missionary. The total Catholic popu- 
lation is 4000. After the repast, we visited the 
school, orphanage, and dispensary conducted by the 
Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny. Four Sisters, two 
European, one Eurasian, and one native, form the 
community. 

At half-past three, honk went the horn of the 
Indian.’ In a minute I was in the side car and, 
amid the cheers of the school children, we raised 
the dust of the main street in Kil-Arni. Chickens 
flew to right and left. In and out and around bul- 
lock carts we dodged. Men and women ran into the 
doorways of their low mud huts to get away from the 
queer-looking travelers. Evidently, a motor cycle 
is a novelty in the district. Needless to say, on our 
whole trip we did not see another. 


80 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


For two hours and a quarter, without a stop, we 
whizzed along a good road, now and then attracted 
by the playful monkeys that swing from tree to tree. 

It was a new sensation for me, and I enjoyed every 
minute of it. Toward the end of the ride, when the 
sun went down, we had to button our coats and turn 
up our collars. The contrast between day and night 
is great in India. 

Vellore was our next and last stop in the diocese 
of Pondicherry. We arrived at a quarter to six. 
A band was prepared for our reception. Between 
the selections, bombs were set off to put a thrill into 
the welcome. It was a great pleasure to meet here 
not only the pastor, Fr. Trideau, but also Bishop 
Despatures of Mysore and one of his priests, Fr. 
Meyniel. 

As my itinerary did not include Msgr. Despatures’ 





LOW MUD HOTS 


VELLORE 81 





x€ 


WITH BISHOP DESPATURES IN VELLORE CONVENT YARD 


diocese, His Lordship was kind enough to come to 
Vellore, the nearest place on my way north. The 
five of us spent a very pleasant evening discussing 
problems in this great country. I shall remember 
this conversation as one of the most helpful of my 
whole trip. 

During my Mass the next morning, the Feast of 
the Holy Innocents, there was a goodly number of 
adults and children in attendance. The boys and 
girls sang the Adeste Fideles. The careful rendition 
of this beautiful hymn and the sweet voices of the 
little Indians reminded me of home. Would that the 
good Sisters in the Boston Diocese, who have placed 
it at the top of the list of contributors to the Holy 
Childhood, could have been present at that Mass! 

The Indian Sisters at Vellore prepared a special 
reception of their own. ‘The orphans met us at the 
door of the convent and ushered us into a large 
schoolroom. After they had placed the usual gar- 
lands about our necks and handed each a fresh lime, 
we were showered with rose leaves. ‘The ceremony 
calls for a sprinkling of priestly visitors with cologne, 


82 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


but as this is a poor school and orphanage, it was 
out of the question. The entertainment that fol- 
lowed might have been staged in one of our acad- 
emies at home, so perfectly were the children 
prepared. Nuns are 
the same all over 
the world! 

The day in Vel- 
lore was brought to 
an end by a tour 
of the Fort, which 
dates back to the 
eleventh century, 
and of aremarkable 
old temple dedicated 
to the god Siva. 
Its wonderfully 
earved monoliths 
show prodigious 
labor and great 
skill. His Lordship, 
Bishop Despatures, 
is a photographer 
with years of ex- 
perience. The pictures he took of us with the por- 
tico of the temple as a background are among the 
best souvenirs we have of our Indian tour. 

We were sorry to leave our hosts, as we waved 
them good-bye from the afternoon train bound for 
Madras. The ride was short —a little over four 
hours. We pulled in at 7:15, and were on time. 





IN THE PORTICO OF THE TEMPLE 


SVUCVIN “AAVNVIdSa 





CHAPTER VII 
MADRAS AND MYLAPORE 


As we stepped out of 
the train at Madras, a 
little after seven in the 
evening, among the 
colorful, turbanned 
crowd, we discovered an 
old friend, Fr. John 
Merkes, Chancellor of 
the diocese and Secretary 
to Archbishop Aelen. I 
had met both His Grace 
and Fr. Merkes in Hol- 
land in 1914. 

A short time before our arrival, the business men 
of Madras had presented the Archbishop, the Most 
Rev. John Aelen, D.D., with a Ford sedan, so we 
drove to the “‘palace”’ in state. A cart was hailed 
for Michael and our luggage. 

On our way to the house, Fr. Merkes asked the 
customary questions, “‘How long will you stay?” 
“What do you want to see?’’ Our answer to the 
first was, “two days’’; to the second, “‘a throat 
specialist.” I had been nursing a septic tonsil ever 
since I arrived in India two weeks before. 

“All right,” said our host, “we have a native 
doctor who can fix you up.”’ For the remainder of the 

84 





ARCHBISHOP AELEN OF MADRAS 


MADRAS 


ride, my companions did most of 
the talking. My throat was sore, it 
hurt me to swallow, and besides that, 
I was doing some tall thinking about 
that “native” doctor. 

In about twenty minutes we were 
settled in our rooms. Nungambau- 
kam is the name of the suburb where 
His Grace lives. Connected with the 
modest but comfortable house is 
the new church of St. Teresa. At 
table we met the Vicar General, 
Mser. Kreyelmans, and Fr. Beukers,! 
assistant to Fr. Merkes! in the curia 
and the parish. The Archbishop 
was at the Guntur Mission, recuper- 
ating from a serious illness, so we 
planned to see His Grace on our way 
north. 

Madras is the first real city we had 
visited thus far in India. It is the 
capital of the Presidency of the 





85 


A WEE MADRASI 


same name, was the site of the first big post of the 
East India Company, and boasts of being the oldest 
Municipal Corporation in all India. Its main streets 
are broad, and lined with some fine buildings; there 
is an electric trolley system; the long stretch of sandy 
beach is indented by an artificial breakwater harbor; 
the handling of its imports and exports is facilitated 
by a hundred steam and hydraulic cranes that di- 
rectly load and unload cargo from boats to trains, 
and vice versa. Asa railroad center, Madras is well 


1 Frs. Merkes and Beukers have died since. 


86 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


situated. It is on the main line from Ceylon north 
both to Caleutta and Bombay, and has good con- 
nections with cities of lesser importance in the 
South. 

The Catholic mission at Madras dates back to 
1642, when it was started by the French Capuchins. 
In 1834, Irish missionaries took it over, and among 
the Bishops we find an O’Connor, a Carew, two 
Fennellys, and a Colgan. The Mill Hill Fathers 
are now in charge. Most of them are Hollanders. 
They number forty-three and 
are assisted by twenty-two na- 
tive priests. In the midst of 
a pagan population of 9,000,000, 
the diocese counts 58,000 
Catholics. 

After breakfast the next morn- 
ing I was brought, like a lamb 
to the slaughter, to the “native” 
doctor. Heé was a Madrasi: 
black, plump, and about forty. 
The appointments of his dark 
| and dingy office surprised me: 
[ee X-ray, electrical apparatus, 
operating table, etc. But one 
missed the scrupulous cleanli- 
ness of such laboratories at 
home. 

After a careful examination, 
he shook his head and proceeded 
to lecture me about the danger 
of a throat infection in India, 
A LITTLE ENGLISH GIRL, 

MADRAS where dirt, dust, tropical germs, 





MADRAS 87 


and what not abound. In a mirror opposite I 
could see myself losing color. Then came the 
verdict, “I must take your tonsils out. It is very 
dangerous to have them in. You have a fever, you 





OUR GOOD FRIEND, THE LATE FR. MERKES 


are traveling, and there is no telling what may 
happen.” 

At this announcement, Fr. Tom turned to Fr. 
Merkes and said something that caused both to 
laugh most heartily. After I got down from the 
barber’s or dentist’s chair on which I had been 
stretched, I inquired the reason for the extraordinary 
mirth. ‘‘What’s the joke? Let usin onit.”” When 
the verdict was pronounced, it seems that my witty 
companion, who always sees the funny side of 
everything, said: “‘Since Fr. Mac struck India, 


88 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


everybody has been touching him for something — 
and this chap wants his tonsils!” 

Armed with two prescriptions, a gargle and an 
oily liquid which I was to apply with cotton wrapped 
around my index finger, we bowed our way out into 
the sunshine. The treatment worked like a charm. 
In ten days the soreness was gone, and — [ still have 
my tonsils. The “‘specialist’’ extracted a fee of ten 
rupees ($3.00) instead. 

True, the good missionaries all had their needs, 
and they were not backward in exposing them. A 
list of the requests for assistance would make very 
amusing reading. But I never found fault, for I 
saw the way they are spending themselves for souls 
and realized that they were not asking for them- 
selves. Oh, that our well-to-do Catholics might be 
induced to read missionary literature! There must 
be some way of reaching them! This sublime cause 
takes such a gripping hold, once it gets a hearing, 
that the problem of presenting it to those who have 
been blessed with an abundance is worth while 
studying. 

Perhaps a magazine like “Asia,” “Travel”’ or the 
*““Geographical”’ would offer a solution. It need not 
carry direct appeals. Its aim should be to make the 
missions known. ‘The financial aid is bound to 
follow. Think of the pictures we have, especially 
of Sisters and children. Properly displayed on the 
best coated paper, they are irresistible. If Protes- 
tant Missionary Societies could print mission pictures 
such as we have at our disposal, they would surely 
provide the means of utilizing them. 

Our two days in Madras passed like so many 





90 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


hours. This diocese is well equipped with the Broth- 
ers of St. Patrick, the Brothers of St. Francis of 
Assisi, and six Orders of Sisters. There are boarding 
and day schools for both European and Indian boys 
and girls. One convent school for native children 
has 900 pupils. The Jesuits conduct a high school 
with 500 students.! 

There are five good-sized orphanages and four of 
less importance. ‘The sick are cared for in three 
dispensaries; but there is no Catholic hospital. At 
the dispensary in Guntur, where 
we met His Grace a few days 
later, there is an Irish nun, Sister 
Mary of the Sacred Heart, who 
before entering religion was 
Doctor McGlowrey. 

We visited the Cathedral on 
Armenian Street, a solid old 
structure that was built in 1775 and enlarged in 
1838. Among the priests we met there was a Fr. 
Prior, who was born on Putnam Avenue, Cambridge, 
Mass., not far from where I spent my own boy- 
hood days. 

One of the most interesting correspondents with 
the Boston Office during the past fifteen years has 
been Rey. John Aelen. His mission was not on our 
line of travels, but he kindly came to Madras to talk 
over the possibility of producing “Mission Movies.” 
His still pictures, especially of Indian children, are 
known throughout the Catholic world. They are 
reproduced in mission magazines, particularly in 
Holland and the United States, with excellent effect. 


1 Since my visit to India the Jesuits have opened Loyola College. 





MADRAS 91 


Few professional photographers get as good results 
as Fr. Aelen. 

Photography in the tropics means infinite pa- 
tience and perseverance. No one knows the weary 
hours in a stuffy, dark room that this energetic artist 
has spent in order to keep his mission of Nellore 
before the eyes of his benefactors. This form of 
appeal is costly, besides; but by a comparison of the 
expenses with the receipts traced to his excellent 
pictures, I could see that it is a fine investment. 

We were not, however, able to come to any definite 
arrangement. Fr. Aelen was much interested in my 
proposal, about which we had had correspondence, 
but he lacked the time required for the work. Fr. 
Tom, however, accepted the job, and “did it up 
brown.” He not only gives us a wonderful display 
of missionary activities, of Indian life, manners, 
customs, and scenery, but shows us what a zealous 
lay auxiliary can accomplish, in the person of the 
*Catechist of Kil-Arni.” 

India is a land of magicians, conjurers, and sor- 
cerers. Jugglers and acrobats may be had on short 
notice. For a few rupees (sixty cents) you can stage 
a private performance on your front lawn and thus 
entertain your guests. Certain castes devote them- 
selves to these trades. They are the lowest class of 
Hindu, the very dregs of society. 

By nature and religious training the Hindu tends 
toward the mysterious. He is always looking for 
what is strange, wonderful, marvelous. The snake 
charmer, the fire eater, the sword swallower can find 
an audience of dupes on every corner. 

While we were in Madras, there was a sort of 


92 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


country fair, with horse racing, a dozen different 
gambling devices and red lemonade as the attrac- 
tions. Our peregrinations brought us past the en- 
closure, which was jammed with people of all classes. 
More to see the magicians than aught else, we went 








By permission atthe ublisheet of 7ohn ti Stoddard s ST 
INDIAN SNAKE CHARMER 


in. Good Fr. Merkes told us of a very clever con- 
jurer, the best in all India, who performed there the 
previous year. We looked in vain for the hero. 
Finally, in disgust, we went into a tent — admission, 
two annas (four cents) —to witness a sleight-of- 
hand performance. What a fake! It was the same 
old sham we had seen as boys. The quickness of the 


MYLAPORE 93 


hand deceives the eye. We missed the clever chatter 
of the artist, however. 

Less than a half hour’s ride from Madras, in the 
erypt of the Cathedral of Mylapore, is the tomb of 
St. Thomas the Apostle. Msgr. Kreyelmans brought 
me to this historic spot and also to the neighboring 
shrine, called the “Little Mount”? of St. Thomas. 
This is a popular place of pilgrimage. It consists of 
a cave where the Saint lived and a church built over 
the hollowed rock. 

The diocese of Mylapore was erected in 1606 and 
has 82,000 Catholics. It was founded at the request 
of Philip IJ, King of Portugal. The Bishop of 
Mylapore has jurisdiction over many churches and 
congregations in Southern India and Bengal. 

There was just time to return to Madras, pack 
our suitcases, and get supper before our departure. 
We carried away with us pleasant memories of warm 
hospitality and the renewal of old acquaintances. 

Our original itinerary called for a long run of forty 
hours from Madras to Calcutta. A wire from the 
Rt. Rev. H. Colli, Vicar General of Hyderabad, 
an old correspondent, caused us to modify our 
plans and break the journey at Bezwada. As an 





94 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


inducement to have us stop, we were informed 
that the Bishop of Hyderabad, the Rt. Rev. D. 
Vismara, D.D., would be at Bezwada to meet us. 

Before leaving the United States, some 200 of the 
700 missionaries with whom the Boston Office is in 
regular correspondence were advised of our route. 
Those through whose missions we were not to pass 
were told that it would be a pleasure to see them at 
points where they might find a meeting convenient. 
An added reason for delaying at Bezwada was the 
fact that we had not yet visited a station of the 
Foreign Missions of Milan, whose members have 
charge of the diocese of Hyderabad. 





THE CHILDREN’S FRIEND 


CHAPTER 
Vil 


BEZWADA 
AND 
GUNTUR 





In company with Fr. Merkes, we left Madras on 
the 8 p.m. train. He was bound for Guntur, where 
we were to meet Archbishop Aelen of Madras two 
days later. We chatted with Fr. Merkes for a few 
hours. Then he left us to change for Guntur. 

It was a cold night, and we were not prepared for 
it. Strange as it may seem, more illness is con- 
tracted from chills than from the heat in India. 
The early morning and the late night may be very 
cold in contrast with midday, when it is always 
warm and often extremely hot. In northern India 
during the winter months the temperature may drop 
40° or 50° within two hours after sunset. ‘Travelers 
are advised to be provided with the lightest and 
heaviest clothes, and with a flannel band about a 
foot wide to be worn round the waist. That very day 
I saw a missionary dressed in a suit of pajamas and 
a white cotton cassock. That night we would have 
been comfortable in woolen underwear, winter suits, 

95 


96 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


and fur-lined 
coats. In fact, a 
few days later, 
between Bezwa- 
da and Calcutta, 
we were awak- 
ened early in 
the morning by 
a rajah, dressed 
in a beauti- 
ful long seal- 
skin coat, who 
came into our 
compartment. 

Indian trains 
are not incom- 
modious during 
the day. A roomy compartment for four accommo- 
dated us very nicely. There are two seats running 
lengthwise with the train, which serve as lower berths 
at night. Over these are two “uppers,” strapped to 
the wall when not in use. The railroad company 
furnishes no bedding whatever. In _ hotels, too, 
except the best ones, you must supply this yourself. 
When you do find it provided, it is usually dirty. 
Even when visiting friends, the traveler usually 
brings his own bedding. 

We were missionaries; at least my companion, 
Fr. Tom, is. He spurns mollycoddling. Besides, 
we were traveling light, two suitcases each and a 
blanket. As a rule, my raincoat made an excellent 
pillow, but on the night in question it was on me. 
In fact, I had all my clothes on and my steamer rug 





IMPERIAL YOUTH 


BEZWADA 97 


over me, but that did not prevent my teeth from 
chattering, as the windows and doors of Indian 
trains fit so poorly that there is an over-generous 
supply of fresh air during the night. 

The most modern cars have a shower bath. The 
floor, however, is so dusty after a night’s ride that 
the shower is not often used. Early in the morning 
you are awakened by a turbanned waiter who brings 
your breakfast (tea and toast) or by a boy who 
offers to sweep the floor for whatever you may 
choose to give him. As there is no communication 
between compartments or cars, you leave your room 
by a door that opens directly upon the platform. 

Our arrival at Bezwada was at 5:30 a.m. on 
Sunday, December 31. It was dark. Msgr. Colli 
was on hand. He carried a lantern and a worried look. 
I learned the reason for’ both, 
as we picked our way through hun- 
dreds of sleeping natives (“‘sheeted 
corpses,” as Kipling calls them in 
Kim’), curled up under their 
coarse, white homespun blankets. 
While we were stepping in and out 
among this motley crowd, slum- 
bering peacefully on the concrete 
floor, I wondered why we had been 
so cold in our comparatively com- 
fortable carriage a few hours before. 

From my hurried observations 
of the Indian, it seems to me that 
he has the faculty of sleeping at 
any and all times, in every con- . 
ceivable position and under most Fe0 1u2UGH| 





98 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


unfavorable conditions. When an Indian has nothing 
else to do, he goes to sleep. It matters not whether 
it be midday or midnight, in the broiling sun or the 
bitter cold, before or after eating. 

It would even appear that he often substitutes 
sleep for food, and it is surprising how little nourish- 
ment he can subsist on. This is evident when the 
crops fail, or between crops. He is proverbially 
improvident, and hence both he and his family live 
from hand to mouth during the off-season. The 
Indian constitution must be wonderful. Perhaps 
this endurance is due to gen- 





erations of training, 
for from earlest childhood, the average Indian is 
accustomed to privations. 

Bezwada is an important trading center, with a 
population of 32,000. As there is a goodly scatter- 
ing of Kurasians in this parish, sermons are delivered 
in English as well as in the native tongue. Our 
Masses were hardly over when we were invited to 
preach at seven and nine o’clock. We tossed up a 
coin, with the result that I spoke at the earlier 
Mass. New Year’s resolutions offered an appropriate 
subject. About one-half of the congregation, which 


BEZWADA 99 


almost filled the church, seemed to understand what 
was said. The bright little children, seated with 
their parents on the straw-matted floor, were as 
well behaved as our boys and girls of the same age 
at home. 

At the second 
Mass, a well-trained 
choir rendered the 
music. The devo- 
tion of all, Eura- 
sians and natives, 
was inspiring. My 
attention was drawn 
toa gentle old 
couple whose fervor 
impressed me deeply. 
After the service 
they came to the 
veranda of the rectory to inquire, Indian fashion, 
about the two strangers. Their English was very 
good. 

David Harper, or the “‘Lay Parish Priest,” as he 
is called for miles around, came to Bezwada over 
fifty years ago, when it was a small village. In 
those days there was no chapel in the station. A 
missionary visited the place now and then, but a 
resident priest was not even thought of. Mr. Harper 
used to gather the few Catholics together on Sundays 
and holydays, preach to them and teach the cate- 
chism. 

In the case of serious sickness, he would go or 
send for the priest, and he tells with pride of a 
Father who came fifty miles from a mission called 





BEZWADA MISSION CHURCH 


100 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





LAY APOSTLES, BEZWADA 


Masulipatam to attend a dying woman. The poor 
missionary left his main station early in the after- 
noon, walked all night, and reached Bezwada late 
the next morning. When his ministrations were 
over, he celebrated Mass. The good Father has 
long since gone to his reward, but the poor old 
woman is still alive. 

Mr. and Mrs. Harper stood in front of the church 
door for a snapshot. The picture is one of the best 
and most prized of my collection. Before the con- 
gregation had dispersed, we got another with the 
missionaries and three native Sisters in the group. 
Seated upon the ground near the rectory was a 
band of pagan beggars who pay their respect to the 
compound every Sunday. ‘They were the most for- 
lorn crowd I saw in India. Msgr. Colli gave each 
one a quarter of an anna, a copper coin called a 
pice, about half a cent in our money. 

The filth of the Indian beggar is indescribable. It 
is undoubtedly responsible for the spread of disease, 
especially in time of plague or epidemic. During the 
past twenty-three years over 9,000,000 people have 


BEZWADA 101 


succumbed to epidemic diseases. This is an annual 
average of almost 400,000. The most appalling 
visitations were of 1904, 1905, and 1907, when there 
were over a million deaths a year. In 1907 they 
reached 1,315,892. According to the report of the 
Plague Commission, the bubonic plague, the most 
to be feared, is communicated by rat-fleas. Fevers 
and cholera are common in India at all times. 





BEZWADA BEGGARS 


Bezwada is not a large missionary center. Within 
the compound are two small schools and two or- 
phanages. The European Sisters of St. Ann of 
Providence take boarders and day scholars (about 
125 in all), and have thirty-five orphans. In the 


102 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


school and orphanage of the native nuns, the Little 
Sisters of St. Ann, the order is reversed. ‘They 
care for about 125 orphans and some fifty day 
pupils. The Superior of the Providence Community, 
Sister Constance, has been forty-six years in India. 
Only once did she return to Europe, and yet she 
has all the pep and enthusiasm of a new recruit. 
Her English is as perfect as her Italian. We were 
surprised to find the Fathers, too, possessing such 
a mastery of the English tongue. 








‘SMALL INT 





In the afternoon, our hosts brought us to a small 
interior station, in the village of Condapally. It 
has a neat little chapel (the gift of a Boston bene- 
factor) for the 120 Christians in the district. The 
chapel and priest’s house together cost but $300.00. 
The latter has one room and three pieces of fur- 
niture: a table, a chair and a bed—and such a bed! 
It consists of two wide boards nailed upon four 


BEZWADA 103 


posts driven into the earthen floor. The priest 
comes to this station once a month, making this 
modest little place his headquarters for visiting the 
neighborhood. When he returns from a long journey 





ROLLING BACK TO BEZWADA 


on horseback, he may even have the luxury of a 
bath. <A corner of the room is partitioned off for 
this purpose. 

According to the report of the Fathers, the mission 
of Bezwada is one of the most promising in India. 
Outside of the city there are aborigines who would 
come into the church in large numbers if the mis- 
sionaries could be had and the necessary means to 
convert them. Whole tribes are ready to undergo 
instruction and embrace the Faith, if the Bishop 
can only supply the necessary personnel to go among 
them. Like the Chota Nagpur District in the diocese 


104 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





of Calcutta, and Uganda in British East Africa, the 
Hyderabad harvest is ready for the reapers. It is a 
field with an immediate future. 

This cannot be said of many missions. The labor 
of conversion is, as a rule, uphill work. Even here, 
of course, the missionary has no sinecure; but the 


soil seems to be richer 
than the average. ‘“The 
harvest indeed is great, 
but the laborers are 
few.” Besides the Cath- 
olic population of 
32,000 (the same as the 
total population of 
Bezwada) there are 5,000 
catechumens under in- 
struction in the Hy- 
derabad Diocese. This 
latter number might 
easily be ten times as 
large with more men 


BISHOP VISMARA and money. 





GUNTUR 105 


Bishop Vismara, of Hyderabad did not arrive at 
Bezwada until Monday morning. His Lordship and 
Msgr. Colli very kindly accompanied me to Guntur 
where we paid our respects to Archbishop Aelen of 
Madras. It is about an hour’s ride by train. We 
got there at mid- 
davesetr. Lom 
visited another 
mission near 
Bezwada. 

I had met His 
Grace in 1914 in 
Tilburg, Hol- 
land, his birth- 
place. Then, as 
now, he was in 
the hospital con- 
valescing. We 
had been in cor- 
respondence for 
about a dozen years; in fact, the very first missionary 
appeal I ever wrote was for the transportation of 
four Mill Hill priests from England to Madras. 
The response was both disappointing and _satis- 
factory. Two readers answered it. One sent a 
dollar, the other a check for eight hundred, the 
amount asked for. 

It was a pleasant surprise to find the Archbishop 
well enough to preside at table. Besides Fr. Merkes, 
Frs. Jarvis, McArdle, and Firman were present. It 
was a jolly group. The good cheer that abounded 
here as elsewhere confirmed my opinion that there 
were few “grouches’”’ among missionaries. 





AN OUT-STATION CONVENT, BEZWADA 


106 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





THE DISPENSARY 


After dinner, we went through the compound. 
The buildings are all new and well constructed. 
The proverbial Dutch cleanliness was refreshing. ‘The 
Sisters of Jesus, Mary and Joseph have an or- 
phanage for caste and non-caste children, 160 (all 
boarders), and 155 Telugu girls. A little reception 
was prepared, consisting of a few words of welcome 
by one of the Sisters and an entertainment by the 
neatly dressed orphans. All I could understand was 
“Hip, hip, hurrah, Mahatma McGlinchey — Ki 
Javon 

A well-equipped dispensary is presided over by 
Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart, who made her 
medical studies at Melbourne and, as Dr. McGlow- 
rey, had a large practice in Australia. As many as 


GUNTUR 107 


200 poor natives are treated on a busy day. With 
permission from the Propaganda in Rome and a 
license from the Government to perform operations, 
Sister Mary is the good angel of the district. Among 
the patients in the small hospital was a sick mis- 
sionary, Fr. Walsh. In nineteen years, these Sisters 
have baptized 30,000 dying babies. 

The good nuns, 
as well as the 
priests, are blessed 
with cheerful dis- 
positions and a 
sense of humor. 
They, like the Mill 
Hill Fathers, look 
to St. Joseph for 

‘many favors. As 
we passed the 
attractive statue 
of their patron, 
one of the Fathers 
told me of a Su- 
perioress who had 
the habit of plac- 
ing unpaid bills 
before it. One time 
when her petition 
remained unan- 
swered, she put a 
pair of glasses on 
the Saint. The 
pastor branded 





ONE OF THE BIG NEEDS IN BEZWADA IS 
the proceeding as CATECHISTS 








TIME FOR THE TRAIN, FATHER TRAVELER 
(Picture by Fr. Aelen) 


BEZWADA 109 


scandalous, removed the spectacles, and gave her the 
amount needed, 50 rupees, about $16.00 in American 
money. 

The 4:30 train brought us back to Bezwada, where 
we spent the night. Although we had to be up at 
4 o'clock the following morning to catch the Cal- 
cutta express,’ we enjoyed a long evening’s chat 
about the needs, past progress, and possibilities of 
the Hyderabad Diocese. Most of it is in the Nizam’s 
dominion. Its first bishop was the Rt. Rev. Daniel 
Murphy, D.D., who lived to the ripe old age of 
ninety-four. 

Poor as the missionaries are, they find some way 
to “put up” a stranger. ‘Their houses are small, 
but there is always room for one more. The Chan- 
cellor, Fr. Pasquale, and a missionary from the 
_ interior, Fr. Tinti, just ““dropped in” to join the 
company. I wondered how six of us were going to 
sleep in two rooms, with but one bed in each, but 
it was arranged satisfactorily. Msgr. Colli insisted 
that I should have half a room and a bed to myself. 
Fr. Tom was in an alcove off of it. The remaining 
half of the big room, which served as a dining-room 
and fortunately had a wide table, sheltered the 
Bishop and the pastor. The others slept on the 
veranda. When all was quiet and I was about to 
blow out my light, I discovered some bats flying 
back and forth over the partition. After coaxing 
them out by the light of my candle, and closing 
the door, I got to sleep. 

When Mass and breakfast were over, we hurried 
to the station, In company with the Bishop, Msgr. 
Colli, and Fr. Pasquale, and again picked our way 


110 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


through the “‘sheeted corpses” on the cold, concrete 
floor. 

The 5:45 a.m. from Bezwada was indeed an early 
train. The long session of the previous night, 
followed by but a few hours’ sleep, the hurried 
breakfast after Mass at 4:30, the quick transfer to 
the station, and the frantic rush for a compartment 
were a good preparation for our reception into the 
arms of Morpheus. We put off our customary 
comparison of notes, our comments upon the scenery 
were brief — in a very few minutes all was silence 
and we were dead to the world. 





A BEZWADA BELLE 


CHAPTER IX 
CALCU BLA 


Durinec the run of 764 
miles, which was to 
take all that day and 
half of the next, several 
times we congratulated 
ourselves upon our good 
sense in breaking the 
long journey from Ma- 
dras to Calcutta at Bez- 
wada. Through Japan, 
Corea, China, Indo- 
China, and the Straits 
Settlements, I had §& . . 
been alone. On this IN CALCUTTA, FR. TOM AND I GOT 
iereaerch sncrethan BACK INTO BLACK CLOTHING 
at any time since Fr. Tom had met me in Colom- 
bo, I appreciated his delightful companionship and 
the extreme kindness of the Archbishop of Pondi- 
cherry in permitting “Pére Gavan,” as they call 
him down in his mission, to be my cicerone. 

My most pleasant memories of the Far East are 
those of India. And, as I look back upon the entire 
itinerary, I feel that this is due in no small measure 
to the fund of information as well as to the congenial 
association of my guide. It is gratifying to read in 
his regular correspondence that he, too, finds satis- 

111 





112 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


faction in recalling the days we spent together. In 
one letter he wrote: 

“This time last year, I was on my way to Colombo 
to meet you. How often I have lived over those two 
glorious months! I wonder if anything so good will 
ever happen again?” 

Only those who have traveled through the Orient 
know the creepy feeling that comes over the Occi- 
dental while touring the other side of the globe. 
India is a land of extremes as well as sharp con- 
trasts. These extremes often leave a bad impression 
upon the European and the American. 

The long ride, however, was not monotonous. 
Travel in India never is, especially in good weather. 
The mixture of races and castes, jabbering in a dozen 
tongues and decked out 
in turbans and saris of as 
many colors and shades, 
the odd manners and cus- 
toms all so strange, make 
each stop most interest- 
ing. True, from 8 a.m. to 
4 p.M. the heat is oppres- 
sive; but the blue-tinted 
window glass and the 
wooden blinds help to make 
the compartment endur- 
able. We wore amber col- 
ored goggles (protected on 
the sides with a fine screen) 
to relieve the eyes and 


aincaae ATS EE avoid sunstroke. 
THE LATE ARCHBISHOP OF ; : 
CALCUTTA, DR. MEULEMAN Upon our arrival in Cal- 





CALCUTTA 113 





A BIG MAN ON A BIGGER BEAST 


cutta, we were met by a “big” friend, the Rev. 
T. Van der Schueren, 8.J., who had already in- 
vited us by letter to make our headquarters at 
St. Xavier’s College. This Belgian missionary is 
six feet two inches tall, and wears a long, white 
beard. He has been forty years in India. A few 
years ago he took the United States by storm, 
and is still remembered in Boston for his fascinating 
appeal in behalf of this mission. Our rooms were 
ready when we got there. After dinner, at recrea- 
tion, we met the faculty and were received by Arch- 
bishop Meuleman! and his Coadjutor, Bishop Perier. 
This Bengal Mission is supplied from the Belgian 
Province of the Society of Jesus. It was reopened 
soon after the re-establishment of the Society in 
1834. The first Vicar Apostolic was the Rt. Rev. 
Robert St. Leger. In keeping with the tradition of 


1 Archbishop Meuleman has died since. 


114 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


the Society, he and his five companions started a 
college. Under the second Vicar, the Rt. Rev. 
Patrick Carew, it was closed in 1840. Six years 
later the Jesuits left Calcutta, but returned in 1860. 

Since the days of St. Francis Xavier, other apos- 
tolic Jesuits like de Nobili and de Britto have evan- 
gelized India from Ceylon to the Himalayas and 
beyond. ‘The marvelous results obtained by the 
Germans in Bombay, the French in Madura and 
Trichinopoly, and the Italians in Mangalore, give 
testimony to the missionary spirit of the Society. 
In these centers, as in Calcutta, the Jesuit colleges 
are large and flourishing. 

Fr. Van der Schueren had prepared a tour of the 
city and a visit to the interior, where we saw two 
most interesting stations in the famous Chota Nag- 
pur District. For years I had been reading of the 
wonders accomplished among the aboriginal tribes 
by the saintly Fr. Lievens. Now I was actually to 
see the fruits of his labors. No experience on my en- 
tire trip was more eagerly awaited than this, and 
none made me feel more satisfied that with men and 
means, our missionaries can make a deep rift in the 
rock of paganism. 

Calcutta is on the Hugli River, some eighty ie 
from the mouth. Itis the gateway to India from 
the East, as is Bombay from the West. This cap- 
ital of the Bengal Presidency has a population 





CALCUTTA 115 


of 1,000,000, three-fourths of whom are Hindus. 
The remainder are mostly Mohammedans. It has 
about 50,000 Christians. The Catholics number 
15,000. 

Some refer to it as the “City of Palaces’? because 





A CORNER IN A SCHOOL 


of the beautiful, attractive buildings that grace its 
broad, well laid out thoroughfares. ‘These are in the 
English part of the city, which is quite in contrast 
with the native quarters. Here, as in Bombay, one 
sees the extremes of European affluence and native 
misery. There has been an attempt to relieve the 
wretched living conditions of the poor in Bombay by 
the erection of “‘chawls,” large concrete apartments 
that will accommodate from 1,000 to 2,000 people. 
But even these are so congested that there is a whole 


116 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


family in each room. We saw no such provisions for 
the poor in Calcutta. 

The city itself is by no means the stronghold of 
the Church in this diocese. Most of the 222,000 





From 
“John L. Stoddard’s 
Lectures’’ 


A STUPENDOUS BARRIER 


Catholics, as we shall see later, are not pure Ben- 
galis. The native converts in Calcutta are largely 
Tamils from the South. For these as well as for the 


CALCUTTA 117 


Europeans and Eurasians there is ample provision 
of churches. Besides the Cathedral, which dates 
back to 1697, there are eight other churches, three of 
which were built 
in the first half of 
the last century. 

The education- 
al opportunities, 
especially for 
higher study, are 
excellent. St. 
Xavier’s College, 
affiliated with the 
Calcutta Uni- 
versity, has fifty 
professors and 
masters, half of 





whom are Jesuits. CHATTING WITH THE HIMALAYAS 
The Fathers also 


conduct St. Anthony’s High School for Indian boys. 
On its staff are two members of the Society and 
seven lay teachers. At Darjeeling, a beautifully sit- 
uated town, 350 miles from Calcutta and 7,000 feet 
high, is St. Joseph’s College, usually called “‘ North 
Point.”’ For this, fifteen Jesuits and six lay masters 
are required. 

Darjeeling, known to the globe-trotter as the “ Roof 
of the World,” is at the foot of the majestic Hima- 
layas. The best view of Mt. Kinchanjunga, the 
second highest peak in the world, is had from the 
college windows. Some claim that on a very clear 
day even Mt. Everest is visible from Darjeeling. 
Besides the picturesque scenery, this popular resort 


118 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


offers a most delightful climate. The temperature is 
never higher than 80° in midsummer or below 30° in 
winter. This place is a blessing for the sick mission- 
ary from the scorching plains of Bengal. 

But the good Jesuits are not the only educators in 
this flourishing diocese. ‘The Irish Christian Brothers 


see 3 





GRACE BEFORE MEALS 


have three schools for boys. There are the Loretto 
Sisters (from Ireland), Ursulines and Daughters of 
the Cross (from Belgium), and the Daughters of St. 
Anne (native nuns) to teach the girls. ‘These nuns have 
homes, hospitals, orphanages, and nurseries as well. 
There is one house of the Little Sisters of the Poor. 

As I talked with the missionaries everywhere, I 
was impressed with their wonderful adaptability. 


CALCUTTA 119 


They seem to be able to work for souls in every way, 
in every clime, and under all circumstances. How 
beautiful the training of a Religious, especially a 
Religious missionary! Well grounded in humility 
and obedience and with a heart full of Christian 


4 





ii idebieti de tea te 


From ‘John L. Stoddard’s Lectures’ 
POST OFFICE, CALCUTTA 


charity, he can adapt himself to anything that he 
feels is pleasing to Our Lord. No wonder our mis- 
sionaries accomplish so much with such scanty 
means! The Sisters, like the priests and Brothers, 
are as composed in a mission compound as in the 
classic circles of their colleges in Europe and America. 
I have just received a letter from a Little Sister of 
the Poor in Bangalore, India. When I passed through 
Shanghai, China, she was Superior of an old people’s 
home there. Her birthplace is Bennington, Vt. If 


120 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


I mistake not, for many 
years she was stationed 
in France. Souls, only 
souls, are the quest of the 
missionary, and, like St. 
Francis Xavier, he or she 
is willing to go to the 
most distant corners of 
the world to save just 
one soul — and then die. 
Soon after our arrival 
at Calcutta, we learned 
that the Rt. Rev. Sanc- 
tinus Taveggia, D.D., 
Bishop of Krishnagar, 
BISHOP TAVEGGIA a suffragan see to Caleut- 

ta, was expected the fol- 

lowing day. His Lordship came to express thanks 
for past help from the Boston Office, and also to ex- 
plain the needs of his diocese. He was the guest 
ef the Archbishop, who very kindly arranged for 
a meeting at lunch. This gave Fr. Tom and 
me an opportunity to beceme better acquainted 
with His Grace and his Coadjutor, Msgr. Perier. 
Msgr. Fernandez, the Archbishop’s Secretary, who 
is a native of the diocese, and two visiting priests, 
completed the group. After the gathering broke up, 
I had a long conference with Msgr. ‘Taveggia, which 
has since benefited the poorest missions in the diocese 
of Krishnagar. His Lordship and his missionaries 
are members of the Milan Foreign Missions Society. 





CHAPTER X 
CHOTA NAGPUR 









As our chief purpose in 
going to Bengal was 
to visit the mis- 
sion among the 
aboriginal 
tribes of Chota 
Nagpur, we 
left for the 
centralstation, 
Ranchi, on the 
.second day 
BROWN WATER-LILIES after our ar- 
rival in Calcutta. It took about a day and a night, 
although the distance is but 276 miles. Travel was 
not so convenient as on the main line, but a real 
treat was in store for us, and we knewit. Fortu- 
nately, Fr. Van der Schueren had planned for a 
Sunday in this interesting center. We got there on 
Saturday morning and left on Monday afternoon. 

A brief history of the early years in this district 
was given us before our departure. It reads like a 
fairy tale. The story of mass conversions reminds 
one of the conquests of the great Xavier, or even of 
Apostolic days. And all this meteoric progress 
centers about the frail form and indomitable will of 
a young Belgian Jesuit, the Rev. Constantine Lie- 

121 


122 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


vens. At the age of thirty, immediately after his 
ordination, this pioneer missionary left home for 
India. After his arrival, he obtained permission to 
go at once among the aborigines. In a native hut 
he began to study the language, manners, customs, 
and needs of the people. They were poor, simple, 
ignorant. Their poverty was due in great measure 
to oppression. 

The natives of India are by nature improvident. 
This is a trait of most primitive peoples whose lot 
has been cast in a tropical climate. But there are 
always some shrewd minds, keen 
enough to prey upon the multi- 
tude and take advantage of their 
weaknesses. One of the frailties of 
the Indian is his proneness to bor- 
row. The money lender is a verit- 
able curse in India. Usury and 
extortion are the order of the day. 

The money lenders and _ the 
usurers, the Hindu merchants and 
the zemindars (land owners) found 
these innocent tribes an easy prey. 
The poor debtors were deceived, 
robbed, despoiled of their land and 
cattle and thrown into prison. This 
was an opportunity for the young 
priest to become their friend and 
guide. He studied their laws, ad- 
vised them, showed them their legal 
rights, defended them, and even 
pleaded their cases in the law 
courts. Verdict followed verdict in 





CHOTA NAGPUR 123 


favor of the oppressed. His reputation was made. 
He was hailed as their father and protector. 

But this was not his goal. The zealous young 
Jesuit would be their ghostly father, their guide in 
the spiritual life. He would teach them to know the 
real Saviour. The way was already open to him. 
In fact, many of his conferences with their head men 





ONE OF THE VILLAGE SCHOOLS 


were interspersed with preaching and religious teach- 
ing. He was laying deep the foundation of one of the 
most promising missions of the world at the present 
time. 

Fr. Lievens arrived in March, 1885. By March of 
the next year he had made 350 converts. In another 
twelve months the flock had increased to 5,000. In 
August of that same year, 1887, it was doubled. 
But these 10,000 neophytes were not left alone, nor 
were their children neglected. The secret of lasting 
success of any mission is the school. The apostle 


124 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


knew this full well. So he opened one after another 
until there were thirty. two months later, October, 
1887, there were 15,000 converts in 400 villages, and 
60 schools to the credit of the untiring efforts of the 
missionary. Several chapels, too, were built. In 





THEY KEEP COMING AND: COMING 


August of 1888, the official census, according to 
Rev. Henry Josson, S.J., who has recently written a 
complete history of the mission in two large volumes, 
was as follows: 

Total converts, 50,351 — 11,291 baptized, 39,060 
ecatechumens; number of villages, 832; number of 
Catholic families, 7,193; number of catechists, 189; 
number of chapels, 95; number of schools, 77; number 
of pupils, 2,400. 

The figures at the end of the year 1889 are given as: 


CHOTA NAGPUR 125 


36,302 baptized, 36,961 catechumens; total, 73,263 
converts. 

In four years the increase in converts was about 
70,000. Fr. Lievens had help when the work became 
so great that one could not manage it alone. The 
first to arrive was another young Belgian Jesuit, 
Fr. Cardon, in January, 1889. 

The latest census at hand, taken from a most in- 
teresting book by Fr. Van der Schueren, brings the 
harvest up to August, 1921. These figures include 
the entire mission among the aboriginal tribes of 
Chota Nagpur proper 
and the adjoining In- 
dependent States of 
Gangpur and Jashpur: 

Baptized, 123,228; 
catechumens, 47,163; 
total converts, 
170,391; catechists, 
710; churches, 18; 
chapels, 628; schools, 
519; pupils, 13,020. 

Of course, the ze- 
mindars were not idle 
during these years of 
abundance in Fr. 
Lievens’ corner of the 
vineyard. While he 
was winning souls, 
they were losing money and influence. They thwarted 
him and his co-workers in every way, even with 
violence. The good priest’s life was threatened several 
times. During all this mental anguish and physical 





126 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


hardship (he was constantly traveling about protecting 
his neophytes, encouraging them, supervising schools, 
preaching and administering to the sick) he suffered 
from malarial fever and from an affection of the 
throat and lungs. 

After a complete breakdown, the doctor ordered 
him to the sanatorium at Darjeeling. Rest, care, 
wholesome food (which he seldom had in the mis- 
sions) and the bracing mountain air improved. his 
condition. He returned to the Chota Nagpur, but 
only for some ten months. His Superiors then sent 
him to Belgium, where he lived but a year. At the 
age of thirty-seven, this young apostle joined the 
First Missionary, whose example had made him a 
martyr to charity. 

With the inspiring story of the work of Fr. Lievens 
in mind, no wonder we awaited most eagerly our 
first view of Ranchi, the center of operations in this 
flourishing, modern mission among the three aborig- 





CHOTA NAGPUR 197 





RANCHI CHURCH IN THE BUILDING 


inal tribes (Ouraons, Mundas, and Kharrias) of the 
Chota Nagpur. ‘The train arrived at 11:45 a.m. 
We were met by Fr. Bressers, $.J., the rector. A 
native with a baby on her shoulder directed the 
transportation of our baggage, running off with the 
largest and heaviest piece on her head. 

Ranchi has developed into a city of 40,000 people. 
It is the capital of Chota Nagpur and residence of 
the Governor in summer time. Here the various 
Protestant sects, who started missions among the 
aborigines forty years before the arrival of Fr. 
Lievens, have also established their headquarters. 
Chief among them are the Anglicans and the Luth- 
erans. Their success has been far inferior to ours. 


128 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





~ 


RANCHI CHURCH TODAY 


The mission compound, which serves 6,000 Catho- 
lies, is very extensive. A public road separates the 
church, house of the Fathers, seminary, and boys’ 
schools from the convents and girls’ schools. I have 
remarked this in many other large Catholic centers, 
not only in India, but elsewhere. ‘The various 
activities centered here give it a busy appearance. 
Everyone seemed to be occupied. There was a pep 
and a go in the atmosphere that made one think of 
the opposite side of the globe. 

Besides the church, a fine, large, brick structure, 
and the residences of the priests and the Sisters, 


CHOTA NAGPUR 129 


most of the remaining buildings are used for educa- 
tional purposes. The missionaries select the best 
boys and girls from the outlying districts and send 
them to Ranchi to be trained. On the afternoon of 
our arrival, the boys were returning from vacation 
(300 of the 450 in St. John’s High School are boarders) 
and we watched them as they strayed into the com- 
pound. Some had walked 150 miles. It took them 
four or five days. Each one carried a pole or stick 
with all his belongings tied to it. This home-made 
weapon serves as a protection against 
snakes and leopards. A few had 
hatchets to cut their way 
through the jungle. 








As we 
reviewed these 
sturdy, athletic little men, Fr. Tom was reminded 
of the pupils in his catechist school away down 
south in Tindivanam. There is a difference, how- 
ever, in the manner of transporting their worldly 


130 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


possessions. He has seen boys (whose relatives were 
generous) arrive with half a dozen shirts. They 
put on the longest first and wear all six outside 
their short, white pants, 
which barely reach the 
knees! 

But the boys are not the 
only “hikers.”’ It is common 
in all missions for whole 
families to walk all Satur- 
day night to get to Mass. 
The missionaries, too, have 
long distances to travel. 
While we were at Ranchi, 
the Superior of the entire 
Chota Nagpur District 
pedaled in on his bicycle. 

esi He said that he often rode 
350 nite on a trip. Bike Forbes, Vicar Apostolic 
of Uganda, told us recently that he sometimes makes 
80 miles a day. His Lordship’s'average is 60. The 
episcopal “‘push bike,” as they call it in Africa, has 
three sprocket wheels and permits of shifting gears 
without dismounting. 

St. John’s High School and the Ursuline Convent 
School for Girls are feeders for the other institutions 
in the compound. The High School supplies the 
Guru Training School for teachers, who are sent to 
the villages, and the Apostolic School, where the 
boys who have vocations are prepared for admission 
into the seminary. ‘These two schools have about 
thirty students each. The seminary, St. Albert’s, 
has graduated thirty native priests. It counts 





CHOTA NAGPUR 131 


twenty-five seminarians at present. Native boys are 
prepared here for admission into the Society of Jesus 
as well. An Industrial School, with an attendance 
of seventy pupils, completes the educational equip- 
ment for boys. 

When we finished our tour of the boys’ and young 
men’s departments, we crossed the road to the 
Sisters’ section of the compound. In the large Ursu- 
line School there were over 300 girls, half of whom 
are boarders. A visit to the Lace Making School, 
where 240 women are given work, recalled a similar 
enterprise conducted on a still larger scale in the 





THE LITTLE SISTERS 


wonderful Jesuit Settlement at Zikawei, near Shang- 
hai, China. 

Some native girls are admitted into the Ursuline 
Community, but most of them, here as elsewhere in 
India, and in fact throughout the entire East, 
Africa, and Oceania, are formed into their own 


132 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





NATIVE NOVICES 


Sisterhoods. They are under the patronage of St. 
Anne and are popularly known as the “Little Sis- 
ters.” Although but sixty in all, they have charge 
of ten convent schools in as many stations. These 
barefoot nuns, dressed in the modest, native costume 
of their mothers and sisters, work wonderful changes 
in a village once they are established. Seated upon 
the floor of their primitive convent they were the 
picture of happiness and contentment. 

When I first witnessed the native Sisters in Japan 
and China, during the early stages of my journey, I 
felt that they should be made to approach more 
nearly the mode of life of the European communi- 
ties. It was strange to see them without shoes and 
stockings, sitting, eating, and sleeping on the floor. 
The absence of the nun’s habit seemed to be a mis- 
take. Some native sisterhoods, of course, have 
adopted it. Here in the Chota Nagpur, more even 
than in other parts of India, the dress of the native 
nuns appeared quite appropriate. It is the ordinary 


CHOTA NAGPUR 133 


sarl, worn by other women, but blue with a white 
stripe. The customary linen to cover the hair and 
ears is the only distinctive feature of their Religious 
costume. ‘The novices have a white sari with a 
narrow blue border. 

The Fathers try in every way to give the natives 
a sense of responsibility and to make them provi- 
dent, not an easy task with a people whose civiliza- 
tion is of a low order. A Codéperative Society and 
Codperative Bank have even been put in operation. 
They are run on strictly business lines. No deposit 
is too small. At the planting season, many a poor 
farmer has the wherewith to purchase seed, who 
would not be so fortunate without this codperative 
plan. A great many families own land and have 
built good houses through the assistance of the 





WELCOME TO KHUNTI 


134 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


bank. The Society has a store, too, and it is well 
patronized. We were shown through the bank by 
the priest in charge. It is run with a small overhead 
and takes all of his time. Ranchi cares for the terri- 
tory of the Ouraons. About twenty-five miles to the 
south is the center of missionary work among the 
Mundas. Since we had the time, and the road is 
good, we wanted to see this station, too. So, after 





URSULINE SISTERS, KHUNTI 


the High Mass, which afforded an excellent oppor- 
tunity of viewing the Ouraons in their “Sunday 
best,” we set out for Khunti, the principal mission 
of the Mundas. 

Here another treat was in store for us, and a sur- 
prise, too. We had evidently been announced, for 
we were received by a delegation. Flags were flying, 
and tom-toms beating. Boys and girls danced, 
while the men thumped frantically upon their primi- 
tive, native drums. The Jesuit Fathers and the 
Ursuline Sisters were on hand to say a word of wel- 
come. We felt quite at home. Dinner was served 
in the rectory, a solidly built structure standing 
beside the rather stately church. 


CHOTA NAGPUR 135 


We had but a few hours in Khunti. But this was 
enough to give us a bird’s-eye view of this central 
Munda Mission. It serves 3,300 of the 30,000 Cath- 
olics in the tribe. The progress among the Mundas 
has not equalled that among the Ouraons, who 
count 120,000 converts and children of converts out 
of a total population of 700,000. 





A MUNDA DANCE 


Like Ranchi, this mission has an excellent school 
for lace making. The number of pupils varies with 
the season from 150 to 200. The little folks have to 
work in the fields to help their parents. In the 
group of seven Ursuline nuns at Khunti, we ob- 
served two natives. On the missions as at home the 
good Sisters are of invaluable assistance to the 
priests. At Khunti there are three Fathers. They 
could make little progress among the women and 
children without the nuns. 


136 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


The Mundas are a most interesting people. Their 
tongue, one of the 220 spoken in India, is as different 
from that of the other two aboriginal tribes (Ouraons 
and Kharrias) as is German from French or Italian. 
In manners and customs also they differ from their 
neighbors. When the missionaries arrived (their first 
converts were among the Mundas) they found that 
the native languages had no characters. So they 
compiled grammars, dictionaries, prayer books, etc., 
by using Hindi or Sanskrit letters. The Rev. John 
Hoffman, a great student of things Munda, is work- 
ing upon an encyclopedia which will tell all that is 
knowable about the tribe. Because of his nationality, 
he was repatriated during the war, but the Govern- 
ment is still supplying him with funds to complete 
his work. 

Reading, correspondence, and occasional meetings 
with missionaries at the Boston Office had, I thought, 
given me a good grasp of the mission problem. But, 
during the progress of my 
recent trip, as [ saw the life 
of the modern apostle at close 
range, many pictures that 
had been more or less hazy 
stood out in sharp relief. 
Never before did I appreciate 
the full importance of the mis- 
sionary as a leader of his flock. 
Hemustbetothe poor natives 
what the father and mother 
are to the family, what the 
teacher is in the classroom; 
for his charges are all children. 





CHOTA NAGPUR 137 





AFTER SUNDAY MASS 

Everywhere the missionary has to be a business 
man, but here in the Chota Nagpur he is a captain of 
industry. Like the “Black Robe” in the old Jesuit 
Reductions in South America and the “‘ Brown Robe”’ 
in the once flourishing Franciscan missions that 
stretched along El] Camino Real from San Diego to 
a hundred miles north of the Golden Gate, so to-day 
in India the “White Robe” plans, teaches, and 
directs the material as well as the spiritual interests 
of the aborigines. “‘Feed My lambs and feed My 
sheep”? has a material as well as a spiritual signifi- 
cance. But in all these material activities not one 
cent, not one grain of rice comes either to the priest 
individually or to his Society. There is no exploit- 
ing of the simple, ignorant children of the jungle for 
the benefit of the shrewd, well-trained white man, 
as sometimes happens in non-Catholic missions. 


138 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


Social service is now a science. We have schools 
and colleges to teach us the best and most improved 
way to help the poor and the down-and-outs. High 
salaried men and women are sent among the in- 
digent in our large cities to show them how to live 
and to better their condition generally. I wish it 
were possible for these competent, well-meaning, 
often zealous workers to drop in on a Munda or an 
Ouraon compound to “observe” as we did. 





THE FIRST CHAPEL IN A NEWLY-CONVERTED VILLAGE 


These tribes make their livelihood from the soil. 
They are farmers. Rice is their chief product. 
Hence the most valuable way to help them was to 
improve the land and the methods of planting. This 
was no easy task. The Oriental (the Indian par- 
ticularly) is wedded to ancient methods. It is almost 
impossible to change him. But with patience and 
perseverance, these successors of Fr. Lievens built 


spasuy JO pvaiq oY} YI} S[Nos Jay} poystunou pue poy Jo p10oM 94} prvoy savy AOU, 
SSVIN AVGNOS WALAV SAOVTITIA YIGHL OL ANOH ONINUDLAY “YNdDVN V.LOHO AO SOIIOHLVO 





140 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


upon the foundations he laid so firmly, and to-day 
there are prosperous, progressive, permanent agri- 
culturalists where but a few years ago one found 
poverty-stricken, backward nomads, eking out a 
miserable existence from a half-cultivated soil. 

In each mission there are a model rice field and 
truck garden developed by intensive farming. By 
irrigating and fertilizing the once arid soil, it has 
been converted into good land, yielding remarkable 
crops. In one district over 200 wells were sunk 
under the direction of the priest. ‘This provision 
alone transformed the surrounding plantations. 

In his capacity of teacher, organizer, and adviser, 
the missionary always has in mind the mutual help 
that the natives can give to one another. While he 
endeavors to make them provident and to instill 
into them that sense of responsibility which is 
proper to the white man and generally lacking in the 
Indian, he tries at the same time to inspire them with 
an interest in the welfare of their fellow men. 

For example, to the panchayats or meetings of 
the 13,000 shareholders in the bank, the rural 
branches or units send representatives. Some- 
times there are over a thousand present. ‘The Arch- 
bishop, the Superior of the mission and a goodly 
number of missionaries attend. These picked dele- 
gates from the tribes are in session for several days. 
They discuss everything that makes for the welfare 
of their people, give their experiences (successes and 
failures) and thus profit by one another’s knowledge. 

Besides the money bank, there is a rice or produce 
bank, in which the capital and interest on loans are 
rice or some other product. This keeps the more 


CHOTA NAGPUR 141 


primitive farmers out of the hands of mahajans or 
Hindu money lenders. ‘hese sharks generally get 
one hundred per cent. on a loan when the interest is 
payable in rice or produce. 

The last word in this social service system is the 
Mutual Help Society. This operates with a fund 
provided to assist the less fortunate who would meet 
with failure without it. Many a family, carrying a 
heavy mortgage and unable to meet the demands of 
the bank, is tided over a poor season by relief from 
this Society. In Khunti the fund is over $1000.00. 
It has saved countless homes and farms from the ruin 
that is sure to follow negotiations with the heartless 
money lenders. 

Before the war, I had often wondered why no 
appeals came to the Office from the diocese of Cal- 
cutta. My brief visit showed me one reason: the 
mission was in a flourishing condition, the people 
were prosperous and they contributed to the Church. 
But their offerings were not nearly large enough to 

build chapels and schools, to pay teachers and 
catechists, to educate native priests; in 
a word, for the extension 
and upkeep of 







FAREWELL TO KHUNTI 


142 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


the diocese. The other reason (it should have come 
first) was the great generosity of the Catholics of 
Belgium who, when they could, gave unsparingly to 
the mission work of their countrymen in this far off 
Bengal jungle. 

To-day, it is a struggle to keep up these ambitious 
works, largely on account of the depreciation of 
Belgian money. It now takes about 90 francs to 
purchase an English pound. Before the war 24 
franes would doit. In those days the Belgian franc 
was worth 20 cents. At present, its value is less than 
5 cents. From a priest in the Ranchi District I re- 
cently received an appeal in which he writes: “‘My 
District Superior who is in charge of 10,000 Christians 
and a school of 300 boys has to his credit 50 rupees 
($15.00)! Please come to our help! Ican still pull on 
for some time, but the Superior of the District cannot 
wait. Heis in urgent need of immediate assistance. 


{? 


May God enable you to come to our relief! 





A FRIEND IN BENGAL 
whom we were not able to see, Rey. 
John B. Delaunay, Ph.D., J.C.D., 
of Dacca, a Holy Cross Father 
from the U.S.A. 





CHAPTER XI 
PATNA 


LEAVING the interesting Chota Nagpur missions in 
the diocese of Calcutta, our itinerary brought us 
north and east to Patna on the Ganges, the field of 
a small band of American Jesuits. We left Ranchi 
in the afternoon, a little before 4 o’clock. A short 
ride of three hours brought us to a place called 
Perulia. Here we waited two hours for the 
night train to Patna. It came along at 9:30. As 
we were due for an early arrival (5 A.M.), no time 
was lost in spreading our blankets upon the 
seats for a good night’s rest; but we were doomed to 
disappointment. 
143 


144 MISSION TOURS — INDIA - 


In the upper berth was a portly old Mohammedan 
who snored. Fr. Tom who, as we have noted 
before, sees the humorous side of every situation, 
said, “I once heard that whistling would stop a man 
from snoring.” And so we both struck up the 
“Wearing of 
the Green.”’ 
The breathing 
deepened, the 
vibrations be- 
came more 
regular, and 
then we heard 
him mutter to 
himself, “God 
of Allah, drive 
away those 
pests!’ mis- 
taking our 
musical efforts 
doubtless for 
the singing of 
mosquitoes. 
We soon heard 
him turn over 
and begin 
again and this 
time he succeeded in completely drowning us out, for 
we hadn’t the strength to keep on whistling all night 
even such an inspiriting air as the “‘ Wearing of the 
Green.’’ At last, however, we fell asleep from sheer 
exhaustion, but what with the jouncing of the car, 
the concert above our heads, and the anxiety to be 





‘THE ELOQUENT SLEEPER 


PATNA 145 


awake and dressed at 5 A.m., we certainly spent 
a restless night. 

The Vicar General, the Very Rev. P. T. Troy, S.J., 
whom I had met some years ago at St. Mary’s, 
Kansas, greeted us at the station. After our Masses, 
we were presented to His Lordship, the Rt. Rev. 
Louis Van Hoeck, 5.J., and renewed acquaintance 
with our old friend, the Rev. Henry Westropp, S.J. 
Fr. Milet, S.J., we met for the first time. 

A chat with Fr. Westropp brought back memories 
of his work among the American Indians. It was 
over ten years ago, at a Catholic Con- 

gress on the 








£il 

WHEN FR. WESTROPP 
WAS WITH THE AMERICAN INDIANS 
Sisseton Reservation in South Dakota, that I learned 
of his love for the Indians and saw the results of his 
zeal. The participants were all Sioux. ‘They had 
come from various reservations, and were gathered 
together for a few days to discuss the things which 
to them as Catholics counted most. Never shall I 
forget the stirring speeches (translated by Fr. West- 
ropp), the fervor, the devotion to the Church and the 
“Black Robe” of these simple children of the forest. 

Patna is a city of about 140,000 inhabitants. Up 
to the time of the agreement of 1911 with China, it 


HIS EXCELLENCY, THE MOST REV. ALEXIS HENRY M. LEPICIER, 
0.S.M., D.D., APOSTOLIC VISITOR TO INDIA 





PATNA 147 


was one of the chief centers for the supply of opium, 
the greatest source of revenue to the East India 
Company. The poppy is still grown and the nar- 
cotic is being manufactured, but the celebrated 
Gulzarbogh factory is now closed. 

The ecclesiastical history of this district is inter- 
esting. At the invitation of the Nawab, Jesuit 
Fathers went to Patna as early as 1620. In January, 
1707, a mission station was opened by a band of six 
Italian Capuchins on their way to Thibet, whence 
they had been sent by the Sacred Congregation of 
Propaganda in 1704 to evangelize the kingdom. 
Not until 1707 did the group reach Lhassa. They 
were welcomed by the king and his subjects, but 
were obliged to abandon the project five years later, 
returning to Patna to recuperate their health and 
await new recruits. With twelve more members of 
the Order sent from Rome, the apostolic journey was 
renewed in 1715. Upon arrival the following year, 
they found that a fellow countryman of the Society 
of Jesus had preceded them. The Jesuit stayed 
until 1721 when, at the decision of Rome, the new 
district was joined to the Capuchin mission of Agra. 

After various vicissitudes, the Thibet mission 
finally had to be abandoned in 1745. Then an at- 
tempt was made to evangelize the “Forbidden 
Land”’ of Nepal. But in 1769 this, too, was given 
up. No missionaries have been permitted to enter 
this kingdom since. At the present time, only 
British agents are allowed to reside there. 

During all these years the Patna Mission was open. 
Never has it been discontinued. The present diocese, 
erected in 1919, comprises the former Prefecture 


6061 ‘VIGNI JO AHOUVUUIH AHL 





PATNA 149 


Apostolic of Bettiah and Nepal and the eastern. part 
of the diocese of Allahabad. The American Jesuits 
arrived early in 1921. 

The diocese is divided by the Ganges. North of 
the river is the Bettiah section, south the Patna 
district. The former, said to be the most thickly 
populated part of India, has 3,400 of the 5,600 
Catholics within the jurisdiction of Bishop Van 
Hoeck. Before the war, Bettiah was under the 
Austrian Capuchins and Patna belonged to the 
Italians of the same Order. 

There is much to be done in and about Patna; 
schools must be started, catechists trained, churches 
erected. For private circulation, among their friends 
in India and at home, the Fathers publish the Patna 
Mission Letter, a printed foolscap sheet. It is 
written in true American style. The good cheer 
and buoyancy permeating the contributions are 
contagious. No reader who is familiar with the 
task ahead of this small group of priests can doubt 
that there is a “‘grace of office’? accompanying the 
missionary. ‘The old folks used to say “‘God fits the 
back to the burden.” This is but another way of 
affirming that the First Missionary is with those 
whom He has called to continue His Mission and 
carry out the Commission given to Him by His 
Kternal Father. American readers will do well to 
keep this diocese in their prayers and send an 
occasional alms for its many needs. 

The Cathedral is a fine old structure dating back 
to 1772, but of little use to the mission because of 
its site in the Mohammedan quarters. It was once 
the center of a prosperous Portuguese population. 


150 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 






Now there 
| is hardly a 

Catholic within a 
mile of it. Here is an ex- 
ample of a once flourishing parish that has been 
completely wiped out. 

We found besides thirteen priests, seven of whom 
are seculars, Irish Christian Brothers, Sisters of the 
I. B. V. M. (from Bavaria), Sisters of the Holy 
Cross (from Switzerland), Sisters of St. Joseph, and 
Native Nuns of the Third Order of St. Francis. 
Bishop Van Hoeck was once Director of Schools in 
the Chota Nagpur. Judging from His Lordship’s 
record there in works of education, there will be a 
development of schools in Patna, if the necessary 
means can be had. 

In the afternoon, the Very Rev. Fr. Troy and 
Fr. Westropp secured a Ford, and we drove for 
eight miles through the narrow, dusty, crowded 
bazaar and along the banks of the Sacred Ganges 
to Dinapur, stopping to pay a visit to the Christian 
Brothers, who conduct here a High School with 
200 boarders. It has a well-chosen site, overlooking 
the broad expanse of the majestic river. 


PATNA 151 


Dinapur is the parish of the Superior of the Patna 
Mission, the Very Rev. William J. Eline, S.J. Be- 
sides being pastor of St. Stephen’s, he acts as chap- 
lain at the Cantonment. This position brings him 
a salary, and the Government is not niggardly in 
its treatment of chaplains. 

Supper was on the table, for we were late. After 
removing the dust from our black faces (never did 
soap and water do better service) we sat down. It 
was a most enjoyable evening. As we were to take 
the midnight train, there was plenty of time to 
exchange ideas. ‘These were the only American 
missionaries I had met since leaving the Mary- 
knollers at Hongkong, with the exception of Fr. 
Lynch, 8.J., whom we ran across in Kandy on the 
island of Ceylon. In my notebook, Dinapur is 
double starred. It recalls memories that are among 
the most delightful of the entire trip. 

We started back to Patna in good 
season, but the “mission boy’’ (he 
may be anywhere between ten and 
seventy years old in the East) was 
so late in getting our suitcases to the 
train that we almost missed it. Fr. 
Troy, who was master of ceremonies, 
seemed not at all excited. It is re- 
markable how even the hustling Ameri- 
can can grow accustomed to the slow, 
sleepy, sluggish East. With a smile 
of satisfaction he got us on board, 
bag and baggage, as the signal was 
given to start. Our destination was 
Agra, on the Jumna, a tributary of 





152 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


the Ganges. We were in for a long ride, but with 
two changes, Mughalsarai at 6:35 a.m. and Tundla 
at 8:13 p.m. Fortunately, the whole compartment 
was ours, with no 
snoring Moslem to 
disturb us! Michael 
prepared our blan- 
kets, and all three 
slept the sleep of the 
just. 

Poor Michael! He 
has been with his 
master since he really 
was a boy, and is as 
faithful as can be. 
We have made only 
passing references to 
him in this hurried 
account of our trav- 
els, but he deserves 

WA SS many pages. It was 
upon occasions like this that he rendered valuable 
service. There were two reasons for bringing Michael 
along: to keep him out of mischief and away from 
bad companions while Fr. Tom was away, and to 
save the expense of hiring a stranger. A servant in 
India is a necessity; he is useful in a hundred 
different ways and earns his small salary ($4 to $6 
a month) many times over. Michael, for example, 
prepared our meals, made small purchases, guarded 
our baggage, when we had occasion to stretch our 
legs at way stations, and transferred it. 

A white man would lose face anywhere in the 





PATNA 153 


East, were he to perform the slightest menial work. 
This is more true in China than in India. Mission- 
aries from the interior of China told me that they 
often have to ride in a chair to maintain the dignity 
of their office and to avoid offending their Christians, 
when they would much prefer to walk and get the 
exercise. Moreover, a servant’s ticket costs but a 
pittance in India. There are separate compartments 
for the “‘boys,’’? cramped and uncomfortable. When 
we met a good-natured conductor, we took a chance 
and had Michael unroll his mat on the floor of our 
compartment. In the servants’ section he would 
have been obliged to sit up all night, with six in a 
seat. 

At Mughalsarai, we were within ten miles of 
Benares, 
the Rome 
of Hindu- 
ism. It was 
US asp 
pointment 
to miss the 
“holiest city 
inall India,” 
into which, 
for two cen- 
turies, over 
100,000 pil- 
grims have 
poured each 
year. But 
we were not 





- From ‘John L. Stoddard’s Lectures”’ 
mere sight- BENARES, THE ROME OF PAGAN INDIA 


154 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


seers this time, much as the wanderlust has taken 
hold of us. So we had to be content to salute the 
train bound for the Golden Temple, the Monkey 
Temple, and the Burning and Bathing Ghats of 
Benares. 

At Allahabad there was a stop for dinner. We 
decided to pass up Michael’s cooking and try the 
station restaurant. Upon stepping from the train 
we found ourselves in the arms of the Rt. Rev. 
A. J. Poli, O.M.Cap., D.D. His Lordship had come 
to invite us to spend a day in his mission, but it was 
out of the question, as we were already a little 
behind schedule. The Bishop joined us at lunch 
and in twenty minutes told us more about his 
diocese than we could have read in hours. This 
meeting was the beginning of an acquaintance that 
has since been kept up by correspondence. 





PICTURE TAKEN FROM THE RAILWAY BRIDGE AS OUR TRAIN 
STEAMED INTO ALLAHABAD 

















From 
“John L. Stoddard’s 
Lectures ”’ 














a 


on 


yn all 


es ote 


> 


é, . ; 
Saat 5 


rn 


4“) 
Ses otle tr, 


se airmen nite cae 





It was 9:30 p.m. when we reached the Agra Fort 
Station, which is just outside the Delhi Gate of the 
great Fort. A short drive brought us to the Com- 
pound, a group of large buildings dominated by the 
tall tower of the Cathedral. The mission was started 
in the days of Akbar. The buildings of his palace 
are among the most magnificent show places in all 
India. His Grace, Archbishop Bernacchioni, was at 
a conference in Delhi, but very kindly left greetings 
and a welcome for the strangers. 

Twenty years ago, as a seminarian, [ first experi- 
enced Capuchin hospitality in the quaint little town 

155 


156 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


gl 





OUR CAPUCHIN HOSTS AT AGRA 


of Palestrina, near Rome. While the members of 
this rigid Order in Agra are by no means living in 
luxury, their mission house is homelike and com- 
fortable, and here, as there, one finds the cheerful, 
happy spirit of St. Francis which, added to a kind 
and hearty reception, makes the guest feel that he 
is wanted. 

The early history of Agra, both ecclesiastical and 
civil, should be reviewed in order to appreciate its 
importance. In the cemetery are the graves of 
twenty-six missionaries who died in the sixteenth 
and seventeenth centuries. ‘Twenty-two of them 
were Jesuits. The earliest arrivals (a band of three) 
came in 1580 in response to the invitation of Akbar 
who, according to some was not only the greatest 
of Mogul Emperors, but the greatest monarch in 
the world. 

Prominent among the names we read on the tomb- 
stones is that of the Blessed Rudolph Aquaviva, S.J., 


AGRA 157 


a relative of St. Francis Xavier. Like the Apostles 
of the Indies, he was endowed with the gift of 
miracles. A nephew of St. Francis, Jeronimo Xavier, 
in answer to a second call of the Great Mogul, was 
sent to the Court in 1595. Following in the foot- 
steps of Fr. Aquaviva and his two companions, he, 
too, won the favor of the Emperor and made many 
converts. While Akbar himself was not converted, 
after his death, three princes were solemnly received 
into the Church. We stood also over the remains 
of Joseph Tiffenthaler, $.J., whose command of five 
European and four oriental languages as well as his 
scientific acquirements were remarkable in the his- 
tory of missionary endeavor. The Carmelites also 
preached in Agra. In 1780, one of them con- 
verted the Begum Sumroo who, while 
she ruled as Queen of Sardhana, 
made handsome gifts 
to the Church. She 


even endowed a 








DOING THE SIGHTS OF AGRA 


ONIGTING LOGAUad ATUVAN LSOW S.GTUOM FHL “IVHVI fVL AHL 





AGRA 159 


seminary for native priests with a donation of 
100,000 rupees. 

The Capuchins have been in Agra since 1820. In 
1886, it was made an archdiocese. ‘There are 36 
European and 6 native priests looking after 27 
churches and chapels, with 22 central stations and 
29 outlying missions. In the educational institu- 
tions the Fathers are assisted by the Brothers of 
St. Patrick, the Sisters of Jesus and Mary, and the 
Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi. The first-named 
Sisters have 15 convents in the United States. They 
came to Agra in 1842. St. Peter’s College for boys 
is in the compound. It has 160 students who are 
all boarders. As early as 1621, the Jesuits founded 
a college at Agra. According to the Catholic Direc- 
tory, there are but 8,256 Catholics out of a pagan 
population of 29,000,000. 

Here, in Agra, Mecca of world travelers, civil his- 
tory is reflected in the splendor of its palaces and 
tombs, memories of the magnificence of its Mogul 
monarchs. ‘The massive Fort and stately palace of 
Akbar, the beautiful Taj Mahal, built by Shah Jehan 
as a tomb for his favorite queen, the tomb of Itimad- 
ud-Daulah, second only to the ‘T'aj, and other palaces 
and tombs simply dazzle the visitor to this ancient 
seat of the Mogul dynasty. Granite, sandstone, 
marbles of every color, alabaster, jasper, lapis-lazuli, 
agate, onyx, Ivory, precious metals and stones that 
beggar description were used lavishly in these truly 
regal structures. ‘Time and expense meant nothing. 
Architects and artists were even brought from 
Europe. The Taj was twenty-two years in building, 
occupied 20,000 men, and cost $10,000,000. 


160 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 









THE AGRA FORT 


We have not the time and space, nor is ours the 
pen to describe these triumphs of architecture. We 
feasted our eyes upon them, went away and returned 
to enjoy their grandeur, and when leaving Agra ap- 
preciated the position of those who rave over the 








A MOGUL TOMB 


AGRA 161 


architecture of India, claiming it far surpasses that 
of Europe. One traveler wrote of the Taj: “It is a 
delicately sculptured mountain of pure alabaster, 
supporting on its crest a sparkling dome, light as a 
radiant bubble, which seal at hy moment ita 
away and vanish 
into air. It is the 
one completely 
faultless edifice that 
man has reared.” 
The interior dec- 
orations are as 
marvelous as the 
exterior. Inlaid 
marbles, harmoni- 
ous mosaics, grace- 
ful scrollwork, 
delicately carved 
screens that resem- 
ble lace, captivate 


and charm the eye. From “John L. Stoddard’s Lectures” 
Within and with- FLOWERS IN PRECIOUS STONES 





out, this mausoleum, which contains the tombs of Shah 
Jehan and his wife, has been called a miracle of 
beauty and is generally conceded to be the most beau- 
tiful building in the world. Its perfect harmony, bal- 
anced proportions and simplicity, its jewel-like setting 
in a beautiful garden and the snow-white marble 
approach, all leave an impression not soon to be 
forgotten. ‘The Fort, the Palace of Akbar, with its 
Pearl Mosque, and the Taj, make Agra, in the heart 
of the old Mogul Empire, the one city in all India 
that delights and satisfies the traveler. 


162 MISSION TOURS—INDIA 





CARRYING THE BODY TO THE RIVER 


Since time did not permit us to visit Benares, on 
the Ganges, with its celebrated Bathing and Burning 
Ghats, we took advantage of our presence on the 
banks of the Jumna, one of the tributaries of the 
Sacred River, to witness that weird rite which imme- 
diately follows death in this land of strange cere- 





From “ John L. Stoddard’s Lectures ” 
DIPPING CORPSE IN THE SACRED RIVER 


monies, the 
burning of the 
bodies at the 
river's edge. It 
was on a Crisp 
morning in Jan- 
uary. On our 
return from the 
Taj to the Com- 
pound, learning 
that we had not 
yet witnessed 
this strange way 
of disposing of 
the departed, 
our Capuchin 
guide directed 


AGRA 163 


the driver of our carriage to the river bank. Never 
shall I forget the scene that followed. 

The smoldering embers of several pyres were kept 
alive by a brisk wind; a new pile of wood had just 
been prepared, and the attendant told us that we 
should not have to wait long before the next corpse 
was brought on the scene. An _ uncomfortable, 
creepy feeling came over us, as we waited and 
watched a dozen or more huge turtles sunning them- 
selves on the sloping, muddy bank. In about ten 
minutes we saw in the distance a motley crowd 
wending its way toward us. The body was sus- 
pended from a bamboo pole supported on _ the 
shoulders of two men. It was roughly dropped 
upon the ground beside the heap of crossed logs 
and then placed 
upon the pile. 

After a cere- 
mony, which we 
could not see 
very well because 
of the close group- 
ing of the mourn- 
ers, the fire was 
started. We 
could see one of 
the mourners re- 
moving the jew- 
elry from the 
fingers, toes, 
arms, and neck 


of the dead. We From ‘‘John L. Sesad abate Teoteee! 
did not wait for READY FOR THE FIRE 





164 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


the gathering of the ashes and 
their disposal. Probably they 
were thrown into the river; 
perhaps they were saved until 
some member of the bereaved 
family should make a pilgrim- 
age to Benares, and cast them 
into the Ganges. 

Hinduism to-day, like mod- 
ern Protestantism, is divided 
into various sects. Feasts and 
fasts and abstinences differ 
according to the ritual of these 
various divisions. Countless 
gods and the form of worship 
given them, rules and rites 
and ceremonies vary in differ- 
ent parts of this mysterious 
land, with a fifth of the popu- 

TCE OR Mane LES ationiol «theilobesnitniiiate 
confines. The manners and customs of the peoples 
and tribes of India, who differ from one another just 
as much as do the nations of the Near East and of 
Europe, determine the funeral ceremonies. Caste, 
too, that unfortunate social distinction, the curse of 
the country, settles many religious observances. 

A Brahmin, for example, is not permitted to die 
on a bed. This superstition is based upon belief in 
metempsychosis. According to Brahmin teaching, 
the soul of the departed would be obliged to carry 
the bed along with it and thus burden each suc- 
cessive body into which it migrates. When two 

* Plate from “John L. Stoddard’s Lectures” 





AGRA 165 


Brahmins quarrel, a very common and much-feared 
curse is “‘May there be no one near you to put you 
on the ground before you die!” Immediately after 
death, the toes are bound and the thumbs are tied 
together with a piece of cloth. After a long cere- 
mony, much bathing and purification, the chief 
mourner takes the head of the procession, carrying 
fire in an earthen vessel. Three stops are made on 
the way to the funeral pyre. At each stop the 
mouth of the dead person is opened and a few grains 
of moist, uncooked rice are placed in it. This is 
done not merely to satisfy hunger and thirst, but 
to make sure that the poor creature is dead. When 
the body is placed upon the crossed logs, the cere- 
mony that takes place is too disgusting to describe. 





SO ses i 


A TYPE OF CART PECULIAR TO AGRA 


166 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


Phat Ped gg 
Mae S| 





MOHAMMEDANS AT PRAYER IN THE CHIEF MOSQUE AT AGRA 


When the corpse has been consumed by the fire, 
there follow other elaborate rites, purifications and 
anointings with oil of the body of the chief mourner. 
These rites last for twelve days, the heir and chief 
mourner being the principal actor. 

So kind, hospitable, and cheerful had our hosts 
been, that we should gladly have prolonged our 
stay at Agra, after seeing the mission and the monu- 
ments of the city. When the day’s work was over 
we spent the evening (two in fact) in pleasant con- 
versation. One of the young Fathers, a story-teller 
and a mimic, entertained us so well that many of 
his humorous anecdotes have been repeated to our 
friends at home. Although they lose much in the 
translation, they are still going the rounds. We 
were pleased when informed that there are Capuchins 
(from Belgium) in charge of Lahore, our next stop. 

With “a rivederci,” “stiano bene,” “‘ buon viaggio,” 
and “‘tante grazie per la visita” from three of our 
Italian hosts ringing in our ears, the afternoon train 
rolled out of the Cantonment Station. ‘The hope 
was expressed that their Belgian confréres would be 
equally gracious. We were not disappointed. 


CHAPTER XIII 
LAHORE 


We had left one of the capitals of the Great Mogul, 
whose court was once the most magnificent in the 
world. For four hours we followed ane the valley of 
‘the Jumna to the other. 
Delhi, like Agra, is built 
on the river. Amid ex- 
tensive ruins, covering 
an area of forty-five 
square miles in and 
about this historic seat, 
are the remains of seven 
ancient cities built by 
different kings. Delhi 
has been made the cap- 
ital of British India. 
The Government has 
been functioning in a 
temporary city and has 
been building another 
modern one for a dozen 
years. We were but a few hours in proud Delhi, 
whose importance dates from the Mohammedan 
conquest of 1193. In fact, it was for us merely a 
changing point. In keeping with our plan to econ- 
omize time, we took a night train which brought 
us to Lahore at eight o’clock on Sunday morning. 
167 





BISHOP EESTERMANS 


168 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


Bishop Eestermans was awaiting our arrival. 
This courtesy was not expected, for His Lordship is 
well advanced in years and has presided over this 
diocese for twenty of them. In a “gig,” drawn by a 
well-groomed, frisky horse, we made the mission 
compound in double-quick time. It was a clear, 


rrrepgeccsy 











MODEL OF LAHORE CATHEDRAL FOR VATICAN EXHIBITION 


cool morning, and the few people on the streets were 
hurrying along with a pep that reminded us of the 
Western world. Vestments and altars were pre- 
pared for our Masses in the stately Romanesque and 
Byzantine Cathedral, the most imposing in all India. 
After breakfast, we returned to see the beautiful 
_ church and were impressed with the large Anglo- 
Indian congregation at the High Mass. 

In pagan lands, where false gods have been hon- 
ored by such magnificent temples, I am told the 
natives sometimes ask the missionary: “‘Why is it 


LAHORE 169 


that, if your God is as great as ours, you do not build 
Him a costly home? You say He is King of heaven 
and earth, yet even our earthly rulers live in more 
stately structures and are surrounded by more 
splendor than your Supreme Ruler.’ The answer 
of the average poor — 
missionary 1s known 
to us—lack of 
means. But here 
in Lahore, as in 
Canton, China, the 
Catholic priest can 
point to a House 
of God that is bet- 
ter than many 
American cathe- 
drals and the equal 
of some in Europe. 
The Easterner is 
impressed with fine 
churches, but few 
dioceses have been 
as fortunate in re- 
ceiving princely 
gifts from Euro- 
pean benefactors as the two mentioned above. 

Of the 29,000 Catholics in this diocese, which 
comprises most of the Punjab (population 15,000, 
000), 25,000 are natives. ‘The contrast between this 
flourishing mission and the missions of Patna and 
Agra was refreshing. In 1922 the diocese of Lahore 
recorded the baptism of 1,492 adult heathens, 407 
heathen children, and 1.148 children of Catholic 



















HIGH ALTAR, LAHORE CATHEDRAL 








170 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


parents, an increase of over 3,000 souls. These 
Belgian Capuchins have doubled their congrega- 
tions in the past twenty years. This is particularly 
encouraging in view of the fact that the progress of 
the Faith in most missions in the north has not kept 
pace with its growth in the south. For example, in 





BISHOP EESTERMANS AND HIS CAPUCHIN STAFF 


the neighboring United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, 
with a population of almost 50,000,000, we find but 
one Catholic in every 4,000 souls; in Bengal, the 
most densely peopled province in India, with a popu- 
lation a little less than that of the United Provinces, 
the Catholics are one in every: 1,000; while in Tra- 
vancore, in the extreme south, one-eighth of the 
population is Catholic. 

The majority of the Indian Catholics, 1,500,000 
out of 2,600,000, live in the thirteen dioceses and 
vicariates of the south, which comprise only one- 
twelfth of the country. The remaining twenty-four 
dioceses, covering eleven-twelfths of India, claim a 


LAHORE 171 


little over 1,000,000 souls. These figures include 
the catechumens, who have multiplied most 
rapidly in the dioceses of Calcutta (Chota Nagpur 
District, Belgian Jesuits), Hyderabad (Milan 
Fathers), and Lahore. By catechumens we mean 
those who are under instruction and are likely to 
persevere. 

It is unfortunate that we cannot report a multi- 
plication of missionaries proportionate to conver- 
sions. During 
the last decade 
the Church has 
increased thir- 
teen per cent. in pee 
India and Cey- Ree 
lon, but the sles oa fe ee - 


Pegta sat, Bd 
eT me Rae ase 
CONC Sa aa ee tees 


RR Nr Ree eS aries > 
et hove some Bl aoe 
nine per cent. 


arenes 





ane Sep SEES Sue. 
GL os eee 


In India, unlike From “ John L. Stoddard’s Lectures *’ 


MARBLE GRATING 
other pagan 


countries, the foreign priests are in the minority. 
They are about two-fifths of the total of 3,200. There 
has been no increase in the foreign clergy during the 
past ten years, while the native priests have grown 
fifteen per cent. 

This should be noted by our readers, for they can 
play a very important part in supplying the need of 
priests in India. Rome has recently instituted a 
splendid Pious Work called the Society of St. Peter 
the Apostle, for gathering funds to educate native 
priests in Asia, Africa and our numerous island mis- 
sions. There are thousands of Catholic homes that 


172 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


have not been blessed by a vocation to the priest- 
hood. Prompted by a desire to do for souls through 
others what they would have been pleased to accom- 
plish through their own boys, many Catholic parents 
have adopted worthy young men in the missions 
and paid for their education. A large number of 
single men and women, too, have grasped this ex- 
cellent opportunity 
of investing their 
savings In apostolic 
work. The amount 
required ($100 a 
year for six years) 
is not a great bur- 
den on these kind 
\ benefactors. Only 
God knows how 
» much good is thus 
accomplished. The 
writer can assure the 
Sf prospective donors 
THE MOTHER OF A NATIVE BIsHop that there is no 
eer measuring the satis- 
faction which will be theirs when their protégés are 
ordained, for he has seen many generous souls shed 
tears of Joy upon receiving the photographs of native 
priests ordained through their charity. Under the 
patronage of His Eminence, Cardinal O’Connell, 
in the diocese of Boston, there are 385 friends of 
the missions who have adopted native seminarists 
in Japan, Corea, China, Indo-China, India, and 
Africa. Of these zealous young students, 130 are 
now ordained and working for the conversion of 






LAHORE 173 


their countrymen. Eleven of the priests and thirty 
of the students are in India. 

The boys’ schools in Lahore are conducted by the 
Brothers of St. Patrick, from Ireland, and by the 


cere 





FRANCISCAN TERTIARIES 


Tertiary Brothers of St. Francis of Assisi. There 
are three Congregations of Kuropean Sisters teach- 
ing the girls: the Sisters of Jesus and Mary, the 
Sisters of Charity, and the Franciscan Sisters of the 
Propagation of the Faith. A Novitiate for Native 
Sisters (Franciscan ‘Tertiaries) was opened in 1922 
and has eighteen professed Sisters. The Sisters of 
Jesus and Mary have American foundations in New 
York; Providence, R. I.; Woonsocket, R. I.; Fall 
River, Mass.; Manchester, N. H.; and _ several 
houses in Canada. In the Lahore Community there 
is one American from Philadelphia. 

Emerging from the recollections of my mission 
tour, one stands out against the others. It was in 
Lahore, where I had the most trying experience of 
the entire trip. A woman’s visiting card was sent 
to my room. Since the name was not familiar, I 


174 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


went to His Lordship and asked him who she was. 
“Oh, that is the sister of the Superior of our Con- 
vent. It was she who nursed your brother Henry, 
during his last illness.” It will be recalled that 
Henry, a Jesuit Scholastic, died of the flu in Ka- 
rachi. Lahore is over twenty-six hours’ ride from 
Karachi, and naturally I did not expect to meet this 
good soul so soon. I was glad when the visit was 
over, much as I appreciated the kindness and care- 
ful attention my poor brother had received at the 
hands of my visitor. 





HENRY IN AN OUTLYING MISSION 


CHAPTER XIV 
KARACHI 













* From Lahoreto Karachi 
we varied the schedule by 
3 taking a day train. It was 
’ anagreeable change, but the 
® distance called for a night 
7 ide, too. So we really just 
reversed the order, leaving at 
8:40 a.m. and arriving a little after 
> 10 the following morning. As we have 

remarked once before, our hopes that 
the Belgian Capuchins of Lahore would 
live up to the standard of hospitality set 
by their Italian confréres at Agra had 
been fully realized. 

After bidding our hosts good-bye, I 
counted the different Orders, Congrega- 
tions, and Societies with whom I[ had 
stayed since my arrival at Yokohama. 
There were fifteen, and in some cases it 
was my good fortune to meet Communities 
of the same Order from two or three 
_ different European countries. In the case 
, of the Jesuits, I had been with Germans 
in Japan, French in China, Belgians in 
Ceylon, French, Belgians and Americans 
thus far in India. I do not know what to call the 

175 





176 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


members of the Society in the diocese of Bombay, 
for which we were now bound. Poor Bombay! How 
it suffered during the war! But let us first look at 
the early history of this mission. 

It was started by the Oratorians in 1637. The 
first bishop was a converted Brahmin, who made his 
studies at the Propaganda University in Rome. A 
relative, also a Roman _ student, followed him. 
There was a third Oratorian bishop, an Italian. 
Then came the Carmelites from Persia in 1696 with 
a succession of twelve bishops. From 1850 to 1856 
Bombay was administered by the Capuchins under 
Bishop Hartmann, who tried so hard to stamp out 
the Goanese Schism. It was he who founded the 
much quoted Bombay Examiner (1850), to refute 
the horrible calumnies spread by the schismatics 
against Rome. For 
about seventy years 
the Jesuits have had 
charge of this mis- 
sion. At the time of 
the establishment of 
the Indian Hierarchy 
in 1886 it was made 
a Metropolitan See. 
Its first archbishop 
was an Englishman, 
the Most Rev. George 
Porter; S:J DD: 

Soon after the beginning of the war, over half of 
the German Jesuits were obliged to leave their posts, 
because of their nationality. Although other mem- 
bers of the Society, the Belgians in Calcutta, the 





KARACHI 177 


French in Trichinopoly, and the Italians in Banga- 
lore, were doing excellent work, especially in their 
large colleges, their German confréres had to prac- 
tically abandon their well-organized colleges, high 
schools, and mis- Ye sions. Theywere 
first sent to con- centration 









camps. Later they were 
merely interned in their 
own villa at Khan- 


dala. 
Finally they were © ; 
deported. Other 
missionaries who were 
natives of Germany and 
Austria, of course, were 
similarly treated. The expul- 
sion of the Tyrolese Capuchins 
crippled the mission of Bettiah 
very seriously. 

The financial loss to missions 
manned by citizens of the Cen- 
tral Powers was great. But 
it did not compare with the 
embarrassment resulting from loss of personnel. In 
the diocese of Bombay, the large college, schools 
and flourishing missions required 165 priests and 
scholastics before the war. At the end of 1915, 
there were only 60 left. There was but one remedy 
—missionaries of nationalities acceptable to the 
Government. The Archbishop, the Most Rev. 
Hermann Jurgens, S.J., D.D., aged and _ broken- 
hearted at the threatened ruin of a work that had 
cost him and his missionaries untold sacrifices, 
appealed to the bishops of India and to the 


178 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


English-speaking Provinces of the Society of Jesus. 
The Most Rev. Brice Meuleman, S.J., D.D., 
Archbishop of Calcutta, answered this cry for help 
with seven men, and sent five more to the similarly 
disabled Prefecture Apostolic of Assam, from which 
the Fathers of the Divine Saviour had been driven 
out; from the German Province of the Society of 
Jesus came five recruits who were not Germans; the 
English Province gave a few priests; and eight 
Fathers and two scholastics were sent from the New 
York-Maryland Province. Many American Jesuits 
volunteered, but only those ten could be spared. 
One of the scholastics was my brother. -He spent 
two years at St. Mary’s High School, in Mazagon, 
Bombay, and six months at St. Patrick’s High 
School, Karachi, our first stop in the diocese of 
Bombay. 





ST. MARY’S HIGH SCHOOL, MAZAGON 


These were trying times for the venerable Arch- 
bishop of Bombay. He saw his spiritual children 


KARACHI 179 


utterly neglected. Parishes were deprived of shep- 
herds who had given their love, their strength, their 
very lives to feed the lambs of the flock. None could 
be found to take their places. The blow was too 


1 
| 


8 eete ge 





ST. PATRICK’S HIGH SCHOOL, KARACHI 


much for His Grace. In September, 1916, just two 
years after he learned that his priests were to be 1m- 
prisoned, he breathed his last, mourned by pagans 
and Protestants as well as by the Catholics of his 
flourishing diocese. 

The subsequent history of Bombay and its Suf- 
fragan See, Poona, is known to most of our readers. 
The Holy See placed both in the care of the American 
Jesuits of the New York-Maryland Province. A 
band of twenty-seven (priests and scholastics) was 
chosen from a large number of volunteers, but they 


IHOVUVM NI FAVED SAUNAH “AOVWIYOTd WNO AO TVOO AHL 





KARACHI 181 


were unable to secure passports. After a year’s sus- 
pense, it was decided to send Spanish members of 
the Society from the Aragon Province, who were in 
the Philippines, and to fill their places in our insular 
possessions by Americans. ‘This meant, besides 
other inconveniences, that both groups must learn 
new languages before they could become really effi- 
cient in their respective fields. But it was all in the 
Providence of God, and is in keeping with the past 
history of many missions. The progress of the Faith 
is often dependent upon political conditions. The 
favor or oppression of governments may make or 
break a spiritual project, no matter how much is at 
stake. Persecution will ever be the lot of the Church, 
but the gates of hell shall not prevail against her. 

It is now clear why I do not know what to call the 
Jesuits of the diocese of Bombay. The Archbishop, 
Msgr. Goodier, is English. Some of the older Ger- 
mans, who were not repatriated, have remained. 
There are a few Alsatians, Luxemburgers and Swiss. 
One American missionary is still in the city. The 
Spaniards have taken possession, but there is a 
rumor that the Germans may return. 

The letter to the Rev. J. J. Meyer, S.J., Superior 
of Karachi, announcing our arrival, was late; in 
fact, it came on our train. At the station we got 
two gharries, one for ourselves and the other for our 
baggage, and in fifteen minutes we were in the com- 
pound. A young Goanese priest, Fr. Pereira, called 
the Superior, who was in the school, and a very warm 
welcome was given us. Fr. Meyer was at St. Mary’s, 
Mazagon, during my brother’s time. He spoke with 
evident feeling of Henry’s work, of his influence 


182 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


over the boys, of his 
brave battle with the flu, 
and of his death. We 
were shown an enlarged 
picture of Henry, and 
were taken into his room. 
Before lunch a visit was 
made to St. Patrick’s 
High School, where he 
taught, and in the early 
afternoon we went to the 
well-kept cemetery to 
say a prayer over his remains. At Agra, Fr. Tom 
very thoughtfully purchased two tiny alabaster 
boxes. These he filled with earth from the grave. 
One was for my sister, the other for myself. When 
he gave them to me, my thoughts were of another, 
of her who had so cheerfully given her boy, the 
youngest of ten, to this far-off Indian mission. 
We took some pictures of the stone which bears 
his name and the dates of his birth, entry into the 
Society of Jesus, arrival in India, and death. It 
reads as follows: 


Henricus P. McGlinchey, Schol. S.J. 
Natus Aug. 18, 1888 
Ingressus Sept. 19; 1908 
Adventus Mar. 9, 1916 
Obitus Sept. 29, 1918 

Rela: 





HIS INDIAN BOY FRIENDS 


It will be noted that he was a little over ten years 
in the Society. The scholastic year 1913-1914 was 
spent at the University of Innsbruck. During the 
summer of 1914, after I had been three years Dio- 


KARACHI 183 





és 


HENRY AT INNSBRUCK 


cesan Director of the Society for the Propagation 
of the Faith in Boston, His Eminence, Cardinal 
O’Connell, sent me to Europe to study foreign mis- 
sion seminaries. ‘The Provincial of Austria, the 
Very Rev. Fr. Wimmer, 8.J., very kindly permitted 
Henry to accompany me. He showed an enthu- 
siasm for mission work that I felt was extraor- 
dinary. We were in Paris the day war was declared 
and, of course, he could not return to Austria. As 
soon as he met his American Provincial, the Very 
Rev. A. J. Maas, S.J., in the United States, he ex- 
pressed a desire to be sent to the missions. The 
opportunity presented itself two years later, as ex- 
plained above. His brief career in the field, his 


184 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


letters from Bombay and Karachi, the comments on 
his work by his Superiors in both places have proven 
a great stimulus to me in my work. 

The following letter written by Fr. Boswin, 5.J., 
Superior of Karachi, to the Very Rev. Superior of 








ON THE MISSION TRAIL 


the Bombay Mission, was one of the most consol- 
ing received. 


On February 2nd, this year, after many months of 
fervent prayer to God for efficient teachers, Heaven 
finally heard our request in sending us Fr.! H. P. Mc- 
Glinchey. I little thought that in six short months my 
report on the dear scholastic would have to be made in 
the words: ““The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken 
away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” 

In these six months Fr. McGlinchey looked after the 
sports and games of the school, did daily three hours of 


1 Scholastics are called Father in this mission. 


KARACHI 185 


teaching in Latin and English in the upper classes, be- 
sides helping out in an evening school, and was my right 
hand as Assistant Prefect of Studies. In a remarkably 
short time, by his vigorous yet kindly and sympathetic 
personality, he raised the tone of the whole school in class 
and playground. The more I realize what a valuable 
help he was to me, the 
more I anticipate the 
unavoidable conse- 
quences of his untimely 
withdrawal from the 
scene. 

Outside the school, 
also, he showed an 
extraordinary apostolic spirit in the practical interest he 
took in everything that concerned our pagan missions. 
Both hereandin Bombay heused every opportunity of visit- 
ing the various mission stations, far and near, and of 
bringing them very substantial pecuniary aid through the 
apostolic munificence of his brother, the Rev. Dr. Joseph 
F. McGlinchey, Director of the Propagation of the Faith, 
of Boston. ‘To come personally in touch with the native 
converts and neophytes, he had already acquired a work- 
ing knowledge of the Hindustani language. And while 
distributing missionary literature among the classes of 
the faithful whom he could reach, he himself was busy in 
gathering information from various sources for eventual 
publication and communication to the missionary societies 
of the States. 

In community life he was the soul of our recreation 
hours and largely helped to keep up in our midst a spirit 
of cheerfulness, hilarity, and mutual trust and helpfulness. 
His piety was solid and unostentatious, and he gave evi- 
dence that he possessed the true spirit of obedience of a 
son of St. Ignatius. 





3 , E gee # 


IN TOUCH WITH NATIVE CONVERTS 





186 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


All this gives us the assurance that he appeared be- 
fore his Eternal Judge with many merits, and we are 
confident that the many prayers and sacrifices that are 
being offered up here for him will hasten the hour when 
he will enter into his eternal reward in Heaven. 


Karachi is on the Arabian Sea, just north of the 
delta of the Indus, one of the seven sacred rivers of 
India. It is about 600 miles northwest of Bombay. 

The population is a little over 150,000. 

Because of itslarge harbor, Karachi 
is one of the four main 
ports of India. 

Its com- 










BOYS OF ST. PATRICK’S SCHOOL 


mercial relation to Bombay, the great western gate- 
way, is about the same as that of Rangoon to 
Calcutta, in the East. The mission is well estab- 
lished and is self-supporting. Fr. Meyer has four 
assistants and there are seventeen Sisters in the 
compound. Karachi reminds one of a flourishing 
parish at home. The educational facilities are 
even better than in many of our strongly Catholic 
districts. St. Patrick’s High School has 560 day 


KARACHI 187 


scholars, bright, well-trained and well-dressed boys, 
who would compare favorably with those of an 
American city. In St. Joseph’s Convent School 
and Normal School for girls, conducted by the 
Daughters of the 
Cross, there is an en- 
rollment of 530 
day pupils and 60 
boarders. Both 
buildings are mod- 
ern and up-to-date 
in every way. These 
Sisters have a larger 
boarding school in 
Bombay; and in 
Bandra, ten miles 
north of Bombay, 
they direct the largest school for girls in India. 

Our impressions of Karachi were most favorable. 
While we were there, two distinguished Jesuits ar- 
rived, the Very Rev. L. Bertran, $.J., who is Vicar 
General of the diocese and Superior of the forty odd 
members of the Society from the Aragon Province, 
and the Rev. José Algué, who since 1897 has been 
in charge of the celebrated Manila Observatory. I 
had met Fr. Algué in Hongkong, China, a few 
months previous. He is best known as the inventor 
of the barocyclonometer, with which all first-class 
ships are equipped, and as the author of “‘El Archi- 
pielago Filipino,” a colossal work printed in Wash- 
ington by the United States Government. The 
instrument with the long name is of great meteor- 
ological importance and has saved countless lives. 





SCHOOL CART, KARACHI 


188 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 








It is a dry barometer, for use with diagrams and 
printed directions to determine the existence, course, 
and movement of a violent storm at a distance of 
several hundred miles. The Jesuit Director of the 
Zikawei Observatory showed me one in operation 
on the occasion of my visit to that wonderful group 
of buildings a few miles from Shanghai, China. 

It was our good fortune to be in Karachi on the 
day of the altar boys’ semi-annual outing to Magar 
Pir, twelve miles from the city, and we were invited 
to go along. The other two visitors joined the party. 
Fr. Meyer was in charge. Autos were provided for 
the priests and the boys piled into a big truck. 
As the road is good, we made it in about an hour. 
Besides the pleasure of seeing the forty boys having 
a good time, of studying them and admiring their 
good behavior, we had an opportunity of visiting a 
leper asylum and of taking a swim in a hot spring 
bath (which, by the way, we declined after watch- 
ing a few greasy Mohammedans emerge from the 
tank). But the real sight for us was a Crocodile 
Shrine. At the edge of a dense grove, in a walled 
swamp, supplied with water from the spring, were 


KARACHI 189 


some elghty of these long-tailed, thick-skinned, 
aquatic reptiles. To the Mohammedans they are 
sacred. ‘The custodians make a good living by kill- 
ing goats and feeding them to the crocodiles to 
amuse visitors. In the midst of the grove is an 
ancient temple. The whole setting was _ perfect 
for an oriental story. We snapped some pictures 
of the reptiles as they wallowed about in the 
‘muddy water, but the shadows from the trees 
spoiled them. 

On the way back to Karachi, my thoughts nat- 
urally were of my brother, who had made this very 
trip only ten days before he died. In fact, he com- 
plained of cold and fever upon his return to the 
mission compound. Some of these same altar boys 
he had taught to serve Mass, instructed in school, 
and directed in their rec- 
reation. I recalled his 
letters, describing their 
cricket games and other 
sports, especially baseball, 
which to them was such a 
novelty. “If he were only 
here now,’ I said to myself, 
“how much more I should 
enjoy my visit to Karachi!” 

Fr. Meyer invited me to 
say the parish Mass at 7:30 
the following morning. Need 
I mention my intention? It 
was for the happy, enthusi- 
astic, energetic young scho- 
lastic who, two days before 





190 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


he was taken to the hospital, 
received Our Lord at this 
very altar. 

The rest can be told better 
by quoting from a letter of 
the Rev. Edward Farrell, 
S.J. It shows the human 
side of the missionary, the 
devotion of his flock, the 
loyalty of one missionary to 
another, and is published 
for a purpose. It is a mis- 
oe oo aac take to think that those who 

Ne pe go to the missions are de- 
void of human attachments. Friendships are much 
stronger there than here. Moreover, they love their 
parents even more than we stay-at-homes. Read 
the life of Theophane Venard; his letters to his 
sister Melanie manifest an affection that has made 
thousands love the missions. 
This excerpt from Fr. Far- 
rell’s letter 1s printed with 
the hope that the cause for 
which I have been privileged 
to labor for the past four- 
teen years, and for which 
my brother died, may gain 
new friends. ‘The missions 
need more friends, more 
money, more prayers, more 
young lives such as his. If 
this simple travelogue, pre- | _ 
sented in a plain, homely THE TRAVELER 








KARACHI 191 


way, gains even one generous-hearted recruit for 
the Mission Cause, I shall feel amply repaid. 


I do not think he had a premonition of his death, wrote 
Fr. Farrell, but before leaving for the hospital he said to 
me, “Don’t you think I’d better make my confession, so 





as to be sure?” ‘All right,” said I, and sat down on the 
bed. He made a general confession, and it was not hard, 
for he had previously told me everything that had ever 
happened to him. There was no worry, no fear. “If I 
cannot die a martyr for the Faith, I can die a martyr in 
the Faith,” he said to me, after absolution. I had to 
make arrangements for a funeral then and go to the 
cemetery. Just as I was leaving, he called me and said, 
““Give me two rupees, I want to give one to Kasiram (a 


192 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


Hindoo servant) and one to Hippolyte.” The Superior 
had put Henry in charge of the material direction of our 
little house, and he was thinking of the servants who had 
been kind to him. 

Friday morning, Fr. Barrett came back from the 
hospital and told me that I had better anoint Henry. 
I went right away to the hospital and told him that I 
had brought him Holy Communion. After he had re- 
ceived, I said that as he was getting no better I was 
going to anoint him for safety’s sake. I had promised 
him at the start I would tell him just how bad he was. 
Often in our former talks we had settled that we wanted 
to be told if there were danger of death, and we had 
made mutual promises to take care of each other if ever 
we got sick out here in India. He was perfectly conscious 
and answered all the prayers. I gave him the plenary 
indulgence and then he kissed his Vow Crucifix (which I 
shall bring back with me for your dear mother, as you 
know there is a plenary indulgence on our Vow Crucifixes 
for everyone). 

All day Friday he kept about the same. I went home 
for dinner, relieved by Fr. Barrett, came back and stayed 
there all night within fifteen feet of Henry. I had begged 
the doctor to come back and look at him at night. He 
did, and said everything possible was being done. I said 
Mass early Saturday, getting down to the hospital about 
seven to let Fr. Barrett go back for Mass. About ten 
o'clock Saturday morning I began to lose hope. I begged 
Henry to pray his hardest to Our Lord’s Sacred Heart. 
I told him he was getting worse and asked him if he 
were willing to go if Our Lord wanted him. ‘“O yes, 
I am willing; but — am I really going to die?” he 
asked. “I don’t know, Henry, but the odds are against 
you. We will do all we can for you, but you must 
be ready. Our Lord may wish this sacrifice of you, but 
it seems to me as though He might like to use all 


KARACHI 193 


your knowledge of India in America for the good of 
the missions. Just put your trust in Him, Henry, for 
He knows best.” “I am ready, God’s will be done!” 
he answered. 

He fell asleep again soon after this; then became 
delirious and thought his mother was at his bedside. His 
breathing was a little easier. Fr. Barrett left about 5 p.m., 
and came back about eight. I went back to the house, 
wrote all the announcements for Sunday and got back to 
the hospital about 11:45, intending to stay for a little 
while. When I got there, Henry looked as though he 
were dying. The nurses said he was conscious. At first 
we spoke softly and then tried raising our voices and 
speaking into his ear. We could get no response but the 
nurses felt sure that he heard all our prayers and ejacu- 
lations. We gave him oxygen at intervals and a little 
brandy; we had been using Lourdes water and St. Ignatius 
water all along; then we said all the prayers, whispering 
them into his ear, and at last — at 4:30 a.m., Sunday, 
September 29 (St. Michael’s feast day), a few short 
breaths and — Henry was with God! 

I had kept the motor waiting at the hospital and in a 
quarter of an hour we were back at the house. Poor old 
Fr. Boswin, how sad the news made him! He planned 
to have the funeral on Monday morning. I went back 
to my room, wrote the notice in the book, and then threw 
myself on the bed. I was to say the 8:30 Mass and I 
began to be afraid I might break down. All through 
these days we had kept up well, but the loss of a loved 
one, like Henry, when it comes, makes one fear that he 
may not hold out. 

During the course of the morning it was decided that 
Sunday afternoon was the best time for the funeral. At 
the last Mass I told the people we should have the funeral 
in the afternoon, and the Mass on Monday morning. 
Boys were sent around the whole parish, to tell those 


194 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


who were at the early Mass of the change; we had the 
Office of the Dead at 5:20 p.m. If Henry had been a 
cardinal, the services could not have been more solemn, 
nor more impressive. The Goans (this parish is made up 
mainly of them) are a musical race; they know the music 
of the Office of the Dead and they sing it beautifully. 
Henry’s body had lain in state in the church since the 
last Mass; everybody came to see Fr. McGlinchey for 
the last time. 

At five o’clock the church was crowded, as it has 
seldom been. The compound (the space outside the 
church) was also filled; the men’s sodality carried Henry’s 
body to the cemetery, about half a mile away. Every- 
body walked; Fr. Boswin read the prayers with Fr. Barrett 
and three other priests beside myself attending him. We 
all managed to keep up well. A body of native soldiers 
served as military escort, and the whole parish came out 
to do honor to the American Jesuit, who was genuinely 
loved by all, and who had become well known though 
he had been here only since last February. About a 
dozen beautiful wreaths were placed on his casket by 
friends whom he had made, and who thought he was 
wonderful. 

Monday morning we had the Solemn Requiem Mass. 
For the sake of the people, Fr. Boswin thought that 
Solemn Mass was better. Fr. Boswin was celebrant, 
Fr. Farrell, deacon, Fr. Barrett, sub-deacon, and Fr. 
Pereira, master of ceremonies. Once again the big church 
was filled, and a great many received Communion. On 
the seventh day we had a High Mass of Requiem; on 
the thirtieth day and again on the thirty-second we had 
Solemn Requiems, and every day during October some- 
one has said prayers at his grave, while requests for 
Masses for the repose of his soul come to me very 
often. 

Only when I get home shall I be able to tell you all 


KARACHI 195 


about your dear brother. He did extraordinary work 
here. I met him at the dock the day he landed in Bom- 
bay and was his older brother until he left to come to 
Karachi. I went with him for some miles on the train 
when he was leaving. In February he arrived at Karachi, 
and I joined him in June. Indeed, we became like real 
brothers; he told me so much of you and of all the mem- 
bers of his family, especially his good mother, (how affec- 
tionately he used to speak of her) that I felt I was almost 
one of you. 


Let me not forget to remark that while most of 
the Catholics in Karachi are Goans, there are some 
Europeans and descendants of Europeans. ‘These 
are mainly Government employees and_ soldiers. 
One morning after Mass, a Mrs. Lauder, the wife of 
the Treasurer of the Sind Province, of which Karachi 
is the chief town, came into the sacristy and invited 
us to afternoon tea. Since I left China this was the 
first social visit on my calendar, and it was a very 
profitable one indeed, profitable because it gave us a 
chance to get the white man’s viewpoint on things 
Indian, and particularly on the character, tempera- 
ment, and social life of the Hindus. 

Mr. Lauder, whose father was also in the service, 
was born in India of Irish parents, while Mrs. Lauder 
is a native of Ireland. Mr. Lauder has a brother in 
the Society of Jesus whom we had met about ten 
days before at Ranchi in the Chota Nagpur, where 
he was making his tertianship. 

Among the phases of Indian life upon which Mr. 
Lauder shed many sidelights, is the caste system. 
It is a unique characteristic of Hindu civilization, 
the foundation of the social life of India. Most 


196 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


Europeans and 
many cultured 
Hindus look 
upon it as the 
greatest obstacle 
to progress, a 
generator of dis- 
union and dis- 
cord, ahindrance 
to education, and 
the cause of phys- 
ical degenera- 
tion on account 
of confining mar- 
riage to narrow 
circles. Some 
even call it the curse of the land, the suicide of the 
nation. There are others, and among them the Abbé 
Dubois, a Catholic missionary, one of the most cele- 
brated authorities on Hindu Sociology, who hold the 
opposite view. Dubois’ “Hindu Manners, Customs, 
and Ceremonies,” I am told, is the first book recom- 
mended to British Government servants upon their 
arrival in India. 

The opinion of Fr. Dubois is expressed in the fol- 
lowing quotation from his writings: “I believe caste 
distinction to be in many respects the chef d’euvre, 
the happiest effort, of Hindu legislation. I am per- 
suaded that it is due solely to the distribution of the 
people into castes that India did not lapse into a 
state of barbarism, and that she preserved and _ per- 
fected the arts and sciences of civilization, while 
almost all the other nations of the earth remained 





AN OUTCASTE 


KARACHI 197 


in an uncivilized state. I do not consider caste to be 
free from many great drawbacks; but I believe that 
the resulting advantages, in the case of a nation 
constituted like the Hindus, more than outweigh 
the resulting evils.” 

It is difficult for an Occidental to appreciate how 
deep is the chasm between those of different castes 
or between the caste and non-caste Hindu, what 
little regard one has for the other, how positively 
merciless the superior can be toward the inferior, 
and vice versa. This is illustrated by an incident 
narrated by our host. 

During the examination of spectators who had 
seen a poor fellow throw himself from a roof, the star 
witness was catechized and gave testimony as follows: 

“Do you know positively that Mr. jumped 
to the ground?” 

iy eS 

“How can you vouch for it?” 

*“T saw him.” 

“Were you on the roof?” 

24 iV essa ecmeepsrn cms hs 

“How near were you to 
the man?” 

Right beside him.” 

**Could you touch 
him?” 

‘Yes, easily.” 

“Could you have held 
him back?” 

“Yes, of course.” 


“Why did you not do 


so?”’ 











IF AN OUTCASTE GETS A DRINK OF WATER FROM A 
CASTE-MAN, HE MAY NOT TOUCH THE 
DRINKING VESSEL 


KARACHI 199 


“Why should I? He was not of my caste.” 

This seems incredible, but it is a court record and 
often cited to show how far the hatred engendered 
by the system can go. 

Caste distinction is not religious, but social. 
Conversion to Christianity does not eliminate it, 
and I am sorry to say that it sometimes works havoc 
even in Catholic communities. A few instances of 
caste troubles in our missions came to my attention. 
One case was particularly sad, for it resulted in 
several otherwise good boys picking up their belong- 
ings and leaving a catechists’ school which was 
going along smoothly until the zealous missionary 
in charge tried to place caste and non-caste students 
near each other in church. The fusion of caste and 
non-caste people is more difficult to achieve than 
the mixing of persons of different castes. 

Recently, in the diocese of Trichinopoly in the 
Madras Presidency, in charge of the French Jesuits, 
there was a disturbance between the caste and non- 
caste Catholics. Non-caste people were formerly 
known as pariahs, but are now called panchamas. 
A word of explanation will settle their social posi- 
tion. There are four main classes, each one sub- 
divided into almost countless categories: The first 
three (Brahmins or priests, rajahs and _ soldiers, 
land owners and merchants) are high castes; the 
fourth, the Sudras or cultivators, are low castes. 
The panchamas form the fifth class. They are the 
outcastes, the untouchables, and in the Tamil tongue, 
spoken in the Madras Presidency, where they number 
7,000,000 (one-sixth of the population), they are 
called Adi-Dravidas, original Dravidians. 


200 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


The Trichy trouble has been brewing for a long 
time. It is a cause of much anxiety to the Bishop 
and his missionaries. ‘There is no telling what may 
come of it. So serious a turn has the whole affair 
taken that His Lordship was obliged to use severe 





THE BARBER CASTE 


measures, even excommunication of the leaders, 
in an endeavor to bring about peace. The quar- 
rel seems to have originated with the caste Cath- 
olics, who claim that their privileges have been 
encroached upon. It may surprise our readers to 
learn that even in church there is sometimes a 
separation between castes and non-castes, and that 


KARACHI 201 


the former approach the Communion rail before 
the latter. 

The steadfastness with which the castes, especially 
those of low caste, demand their rights, and resent 
the slightest infringement upon them is almost un- 
intelligible to the West- 
ern mind. It reminds 
one of the men and 
women of limited in- 
come, who, by their dress 
and manner, want the 
world to know that they 
have some money, or of 
the nouveaux riches, who 
would have us think they 
had been born and raised a iia | 
in the lap of luxury; A CASTE CATECHIST 
while those who have fabulous incomes: often dress 
very simply, and those whose families have been 
wealthy for generations may act and live as modestly 
as if they had little or nothing. In a word, those of 
low or little caste are apt to be more overbearing in 
their dealings with non-castes than are the high castes. 

The matters that are considered violations of 
caste and cause endless complaint are amusing to us. 
For example, in the Trichy case, one of the charges 
made referred to the administration of Confirma- 
tion by beginning at the non-caste side; and another 
to the procession of all the children through the 
Church at the same time although there was actually 
a division made between caste and non-caste chil- 
dren. To oblige the caste and non-caste children to 
sit near each other would be out of the question. 





oe 





ONE OF THE TRICHINOPOLY CHURCHES 


KARACHI 203 


The trouble, of course, was started by a few 
agitators, who were not practical Catholics. They 
succeeded in boycotting two churches, the Cathedral 
and the Holy Redeemer Church. By threats and 
violence they intimidated the non-caste Catholics. 
By misrepresentation, exaggeration, and positive 
falsehoods, they blamed the whole affair upon the 
missionaries. But the great mass of Catholics at- 
tended other Catholic churches in the vicinity, for 
they trust and reverence their 
priests. 

We touched upon many other 
matters of Indian concern with 
Mr. Lauder, over the tea cups. 
As a rule, one is best informed 
about the things that have to do 
with one’s own occupation, and 
most of us enjoy talking of our 
work. British rule in this great 
country of 300,000,000 souls, and 
the Civil Service, 
in which our host 
is employed, 
came in for more 
than a passing 
mention. From 
reading and con- 
versation with 
others, I had 
learned of the 
change in policy 
of the Govern- - 
ment of India THE SCAVENGER CASTE 














204 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


towards the employment of native officials in that 
vast system which keeps in control one-fifth of the 
world’s population. I had heard that because of 
this new and more favorable attitude toward native 
employees there is a great contrast between the 
modern British recruits in the Indian service and 
those who went to the country fifty, thirty, and even 
ten years ago. This point was discussed without 
reservation. The reason for the change in the char- 
acter of the white personnel of the Government is clear. 
Before the present un- 
rest which, while its 
exterior manifestations 
are greatly exaggerated 
in the European and 
American press, surely 
does exist, almost all 
of the important offices 
were filled by English- 
men. Certainly the 
best berths were occu- 
pied by the white man. 
These positions carried 
good salaries. Advance- 
ment in the service was 
open to those who were 
capable. At stated in- 
- |) tervals, a generous 
A GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE leave of absence was 
granted. Transfers to the home service and good 
pensions were offered as a stimulus to remain for a 
long period in the colonial service. But now, be- 
cause of changed political conditions, the natives who 








KARACHI 205 


are qualified (and they are many) have a far better 
chance of occupying the higher posts. In fact, their 
representation in the 
various branches of the 
Government is growing 
so rapidly, and the added 
opportunities for ad- 
vancement are so nu- 
merous, that there is far 
less incentive for an 
Englishman to enter the 
Indian service. I was 
told that in times gone 
by, among the applicants 
for colonial service, were 
a large number of honor 
men from Oxford and 
Cambridge. But now, 
with the possibility of BISHOP ROCHE = 

c First Indian Bishop of the Latin Rite 
working for years under 
a native, and the prospect of a native being advanced 
to positions of trust, authority, and honor, on an 
equal footing with other competitors, the Indian 
service is far less enticing. 

In the Church, too, though for a far different rea- 
son, the natives are about to occupy the higher 
offices. There are already almost 2,000 native 
priests in India (their number is increasing each 
year), and the first Indian bishop of the Latin Rite 
was consecrated a year ago. I could not help noting 
the contrast between the reaction upon the Euro- 
pean recruits for the missions and upon the civil 
servants. Surely there will be no difference in the 





206 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


caliber of the volunteers for the 
foreign mission fields because 
Rome feels the time is ripe for 
the establishment of a native 
hierarchy in India and China! 
If there is any man who is devoid 
of sordid ambition, it is the 
foreign missionary. Where will 
one find a more perfect example 
of self-effacement? Ambitious 
he is, of course; but not for honors 
or power or position. He has 
joined the army of Christ, and 
chosen the foreign service not for 
personal gain in this world, but 
to win souls for the Master. Herein lies his am- 
bition. It is insatiable; he is willing to die for it, 
but that others may live. 

And how different is the reason for Rome’s ruling 
in the matter of increasing the number of native 
priests! As we have already seen, the ultimate solu- 
tion of the mission problem is a native clergy. It is 
not, then, to placate the native Catholics, whether in 
India, China, or elsewhere, that Rome insists upon 
the opening of seminaries for the education of native 
priests, but to establish firmly in their midst the 
Church of Christ, their only salvation. In present- 
day pagan lands, just as she has done in once pagan 
Europe and in the Americas, the Holy See is now 
beginning to introduce home rule by the appoint- 
ment of a native hierarchy, and with the same object 
in view that she had in encouraging native vocations 
to the priesthood — the good of souls. 





A TELUGU PRIEST 


KARACHI 207 


What of the caliber of the native clergy in India? 
We can say the same of the native priests we met 
there that we said of those in China. ‘They impressed 
us most favorably. Among them, as at home, one 
finds outstanding types. These could be compared 
with our best and not lose by the comparison. They 
have the added advantage of knowing their own 
people better than the European does. 

After a visit of three days in Karachi, we decided 
to go by boat to Bombay. The voyage is short, 
two nights and a day, and - woeypg, ~ 
our accommodations were 
good. We sailed at 9 P.M. 
Among our fellow travelers 
was a native ecclesiastical 
student, a Mr. Raymond, 
bound for the Papal Semi- 
nary at Kandy on the island 
of Ceylon. He was returning 
to resume his studies, after 
a holiday with his parents. 
Some of the members of his 
family and a number of his 
father’s friends came to see the young seminarian off. 
In the group were Mohammedans, Hindus, and 
Parsees. ‘They were all dressed in tuxedos and had 
the appearance of men of wealth and position. A re- 
cent number of the Bombay Examiner carries a news 
item about the decoration of Mr. Raymond, Sr., by the 
Holy Father. He was made a Knight of St. Gregory. 

The farewell on the boat to the Fathers of St. 
Patrick’s was different from other good-byes. I 
was leaving the members of a Community who had 





Se. 


A TAMIL PRIEST 


208 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


laid to rest the remains of my own brother and theirs; 
I was leaving the mission where he had spent him- 
self, given his energies and his heart’s love for souls, 
where God had accepted from him the will for the 
deed (he was young, active, strong, ready to give a 
long life of service that had but begun); my pilgrim- 
age to the grave of him, who is helping me in my 
feeble efforts to keep other Xaviers like him at their 
posts, was over. And yet, I was not sad, I had no 
regrets, 1 was proud to think that this “ Yankee 
Xavier, who had the glory of being the first American 
Jesuit to redeem his love for India’s sons by the 
sacrifice of his young and promising life,’ + was my 
brother. The realization that more young Ameri- 
cans of the Society of Jesus and of other American 





A MISSION SCHOOL 


Societies, Congregations, and Orders would follow his 
example, as they have since done so generously, by 
going to the Philippines, Corea, China, Africa, and 
Oceania, was a source of great satisfaction. 


1 These are the opening words of a beautiful tribute by the Rev. 
Neil J. Boyton, S.J., in the June, 1919, Messenger of the Sacred Heart. 
Fr. Boyton, then Mr. Boyton, S.J., accompanied Mr. McGlinchey, 
S.J., to India. Both labored together in Bombay, and were the first 
American Scholastics of the Society of Jesus to go to India. 


CHAPTER XV 
BOMBAY 


We found the sail, two nights and a day, from 
Karachi to Bombay delightful. It afforded us a 
good rest, after over six weeks oF strenuous train 
travel. Strenuous, in- 
deed, it was, from the 
moment we left the ferry 
that plies between Tal- 
almannar, Ceylon, and 
Ramaswaram, on the 
mainland of India. We 
followed the irregular 
coast line along the Bay 
of Bengal up to the great 
eastern gateway, Cal- 
cutta. Our itinerary 
then took us through the 
plain of the Ganges, 
which skirts the Hima- i 
layas, in a northeasterly ARCHBISHOP GOODIER 
direction to the Punjab. 

The route from there was southeast through the 
Plain of the Indus to Karachi, lying just north of 
the delta. 

Fr. Tom is a friend and ardent admirer of the 
Jesuit Archbishop of Bombay, the Most Rev. Alban 
Goodier. His Grace had very kindly offered us the 

209 





210 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


hospitality of his 
modest home, in 
the heart of the 
city; so we hailed 
acab and in a short 
time were unpacking 
our suitcases in 
light, airy, comfort- 
able rooms. Bom- 
bay was to be our 
headquarters for 
the last week of 
our companionship. 
We landed on Sat- 
urday morning, 
January 20. On the 
27th my boat left 
for Europe. 

My companion is not generally given to extrava- 
gance in describing men’s admirable qualities of mind 
and heart, but a word dropped here and there gave 
me a rather exalted opinion of our host. I had 
pictured him as a man after the type of the “‘Gentle- 
manly Bishop of Geneva:” scholarly, genial, gentle, 
and gracious. JI was not disappointed. His Grace 
showed us every possible courtesy. His motor was 
at our disposal, and he accompanied us in our visits 
to the various institutions, when he was at leisure. 

Bombay is an island about twelve miles long and 
four miles wide. Extensive reclamations are increas- 
ing its size. Of its 1,000,000 souls, over three-fifths 
are Hindus. Less than one-fifth are Mohammedans. 
Parsees and native Christians number each about 





BOMBAY 211 


50,000. Its European and Eurasian population 
fluctuates between 15,000 and 20,000. The Portu- 
guese, who to-day comprise four-fifths of the Catho- 
lics in the city, were settled here early in the sixteenth 
century. It became an English possession in 1661. 
Upon the tourist from the West, who approaches 
the land of color, contrast, and mystery by this 
great western gateway, its picturesqueness makes an 
impression never to be forgotten. He is surprised to 
find the European quarters so modern, so well built, 
so much like the western world, for its public build- 
ings, parks, busy, wide thoroughfares and residences 
are equal to the best he has seen at home; while the 
native city, with its narrow, winding streets, its 
mosques and temples, its colorful, lively bazaars 
crowded with representatives of every Asiatic 


country, is so decidedly different from the 
Occident  # that he realizes at once he is on the 
opposite hay side of the globe. 

The ma- terial improvements recently in- 
augurated gagi%and well under way in this island 
city are fp remarkable. In order to beautify, 





By permission of the publishers of ‘‘ John L. Stoddard’s Lectures” 
THE HIGH COURT, BOMBAY 


212 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


straighten, and widen some streets, miles of houses 
were razed. The municipal Commissioner, who seems 
to enjoy a free rein to carry out his slogan of a 
‘Bigger, Better, and Busier Bombay,” has decidedly 
ambitious plans. 

It was most gratifying to observe how keen His 
Grace and his Jesuit missionaries are to keep abreast 
of the growing spiritual needs. No sooner is a new 
district opened up than a chapel is planted in its 
midst. Schools, too, are started, where it is deemed 
feasible. I read, a few days ago, of a church to be 
built into a monster apartment house in one of our 
American cities. There are no apartment houses, as 
we know them, in Bombay. But there are Chawls: 
big, rough, reinforced concrete buildings to accom- 
modate the influx of poor from the country — and 
how poor these new arrivals are! A Chawl will 
house from 1,000 to 2,000 souls, and there are 
SO a large number of these solid structures. 
aie We should call them tenement houses. 
Tenements! I was shown six fam- 
ilies with a total of twenty- 
five persons living in 
a room that measured 
10 x 12 feet. 

I thought I saw poverty 
in China, where people 
actually hire bed-clothes 
each night during the 
winter as well as the 
outer garments they 
wear to and from the 
mission compound. But 







THE POOR OF BOMBAY 


BOMBAY 213 


nothing can exceed the 
indigence of the inhabi- 
tants of the Bombay 
Chawls. These count- 
less, destitute strangers 
in a wealthy city are 
eared for spiritually by 
the missionaries. In 
each of four Chawls with 
a total population of 
5,000 souls there is a 
school conducted by Rev. 
KE. Hoogewerf, S.J. He 
taught as a scholastic in 
St. Ignatius College, 
Cleveland, Ohio, and his 
is, indeed, an apostolic 
work. He is the friend A PAGAN GOD 

of the poor, in the full- 

est significance of the word. The Franciscan Mis- 
sionaries of Mary visit these schools to administer 
to the sick, baptize dying infants, and instruct pagan 
women who are well disposed. 

There is one Chawl (St. Vincent’s) for the Catholic 
poor. This was made possible through the kindness 
of the Municipal Development Department. It 
contains eighty tenements. A committee is in charge 
of its management. A project was under way to 
open a dispensary, the sign-board of the Church, in 
one of the tenements. What reader or club of readers 
would like the privilege of supporting it? A dollar a 
day will do it handsomely. We were proud to learn 
that missionary work in the Chawls was started by 





214 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


the Rev. Henry Westropp, an American Jesuit, now 
in the diocese of Patna, India. It will be recalled 
that the Patna Mission is cared for by members of 
the Society of Jesus from the Missouri Province. If 
I mistake not, Fr. Westropp played an important 
part in the foundation of St. Vincent’s. 





FRANCISCAN MISSIONARIES OF MARY 


The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary came to 
Bombay to care for lepers. They had opened St. 
Anthony’s Home only three months previous to our 
visit in an old building and poorly furnished. The 
room which the Sisters occupied had an earthen floor. 
Only Faith and Charity could induce refined, cul- 
tured women to live in such a place. ‘There were 
six of these angels of charity administering to six- 
teen old women and six children, and they hailed 
from as many different countries. One was the Pro- 
vineial for all India, Ceylon, and Burma, Mother 
Mary Albert, a Canadian. The others represented 
France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland. 

One marvels at the humble, cramped, unsanitary 
quarters that mark the beginnings of great institu- 
tions conducted by Sisters all over the world. In 


BOMBAY Q15 


their zeal for the souls of the benighted heathen, 
and in quest of an outlet for their charity, our 
Sisters often live under conditions that we Americans 
would not consider fit for cattle. Even when their 
work has grown and they have spacious buildings 
for‘ c their patients, they often 
fine themselves to a few 
hardly large enough to 
them. 
before me an appeal 
Good Shepherd 
\ galore City, who 
mm to build a new 
. paragraph will 





















rooms, 
shelter 

I have 
froma 
nun in Ban- 
asks for help 
convent. One 
illustrate my 
til now we have ° 
every one else’s com 
patients, even the 
Indians, have a well- 
hygienic ward. The 
missionary priests and Sisters from all parts of India, 
Ceylon, Burma, even from China, Corea, and the 
Philippine Islands find comfortable rooms here; but 
our Sisters, who work hard all day and often all 
night, have only a small and ill-ventilated building 
in which to sleep. The doctors insist on the imme- 
diate construction of a convent, and condemn the 
old one as unfit. Four of our young Sisters are laid 
up. They are utterly exhausted and unfit for work, 
due to the condition of our convent. We do not 
want palaces; still, we must in conscience protect 
the Sisters’ lives, for hospital work is heavy and 
the disadvantages we have to work under, owing 


THE GATEWAY OF ZEAL sick 





MISSIONARY INSPIRATION AT ITS SOURCE 


BOMBAY 217 


to our limited finances, are making it doubly 
sO. 

When I handed Mother Albert a card reading 
“good for $100,” to be honored at our Office, she 
thanked me as if it had another cipher or two. I 
regretted that it could not have been larger. This 
improvised money order was probably mailed to 
Boston that night, and cashed as soon as it reached 
the Office. Some months after my return, upon 
receiving her acknowledgment of our check and 
learning all she had accomplished with it, my re- 
grets at not being able to have made it $1,000 were 
still keener. A recent communication from Mother 
Albert brings the welcome news that St. Anthony’s 
has outgrown the little hovel and moved to more 
spacious quarters. His Grace has found additional 
works of charity for these nuns, and they are happy 
in having a greater opportunity to serve the diocese 
by winning souls to Christ. 

A word about the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, 
to whom Mother Albert belongs, may be of use to 
some generous souls who are ready to give them- 
selves to the missions. They are unique in modern 
times. Their rapid growth recalls the early history of 
the Religious Orders of men who rallied to the call of 
an Ignatius, a Francis, and a Dominic. Started but 
forty-seven years ago, this Institute now counts over 
4,000 subjects. They are of many nationalities. 
Almost all capitals of Europe are blessed with con- 
vents of these valiant women. ‘They engage in every 
conceivable good work, and have an especial love for 
the poor. As the purpose of the Institute is to aid 
our modern apostles in foreign fields, most of its mem- 


218 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


bers are in Asia, Africa, and the island missions of the 
Far East. The American headquarters are in Quebec. 

Every Catholic activity to be found in a large, 
well-organized diocese in Europe or America has 
been introduced into Bombay. Some of these in- 
stitutions are carried on only on a small scale, but 





they are foundations for something larger. There 
are orphanages and houses for the aged poor, homes, 
hostels and refuges, especially for women; libraries, 
needlerooms, guilds, teachers’ and nurses’ associa- 
tions, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, an institute for 
deaf mutes, and a leper asylum. The St. Vincent 
de Paul Society and St. Isabel’s Association for re- 
lief of the poor in their homes and in hospitals, and 


BOMBAY 219 


the Prisoners’ Aid Committee are all as active as 
they are necessary. 

In the field of Catholic education the diocese of 
Bombay is especially well equipped. St. Xavier’s 
College teaches 1,200 students, 100 of whom are 
women; St. Xavier’s High School has an enrollment 
of 1,400 boys, more than half of whom are non- 
Christians; St. Mary’s High School, Mazagon (within 
the city limits), counts 600 boys, 
half of them ae Ve. boarders. This 
school was of special interest 
to me, as It was the scene of my 
brother Henry’s first two years 
in India; the Jesuit Fathers 
have another school in Ban- 
dra, outside the i city, with 700 
boys. St. Pat- rick’s, in Ka- 
rachi, gives instruction to 560 boys. 

The provisions for higher education for girls are 
also remarkable. In the city, the Sisters of Jesus 
and Mary conduct high schools where over 1,000 
girls are in attendance. The Daughters of the Cross 
in Bombay, Bandra, and Karachi instruct 1,600 
girls of all grades. Both of these Sisterhoods have 
parochial schools as well as their convent schools, 
which correspond to our academies. The total in 
the diocese receiving English education is 8,979. For 
vernacular education (Gujerate, Maratti, Tamil, and 
Hindustani) the figure is 2,210. This makes a grand 
total of 11,189 pupils under instruction. While most 
of the college students are non-Christian, and the 
high school pupils, with the exception of those in 
Karachi, are more than half non-Christian, these in- 





220 MISSION TOURS — INDIA | 


stitutions are turning 
out a goodly number 
of educated Cath- 
olics and helping ina 
small way to supply 
vocations. IJtis un- 
fortunate that more 
native Catholics are 
not found in the 
higher schools, in 
which there is a mix- 
ture of Europeans, 
Eurasians, Siamese, 
Cingalese, Parsees, 
Jews, Mohammed- 
ans, Hindus, ete. 
One bright, sun- 
shiny afternoon, His 
Grace motored with 
us to Bandra, about 
ten miles from the 
% city. Like Bombay, 
ELIZA, THE NEGRO NURSE AT BANDRA.._: 
ORPHANAGE it is one of a group 
of twelve islands. 
Several of the narrow channels separating these 
islands from one another and from the mainland 
have been filled in. The center of population is on 
the seashore. It has 2,000 Catholics. Here the 
Sisters of Jesus and Mary have the largest school in 
India (800 girls), while the Fathers’ orphanage and 
middle school, St. Stanislaus’, has an enrollment of 
700 boys. The parish buildings, though not so pre- 
tentious as some of those in Bombay, opened our 





BOMBAY 221 


eyes. I was surprised to learn that an American 
Jesuit, Fr. Parker, since returned to the States, is 
credited with having so trained the Catholics here 
to contribute to the church that this parish is now 
self-supporting. 

I wonder if there is not something in the theory 
that missionaries from a country where the Church 
is supported by the faithful directly and not by the 
State can more easily and more quickly teach the 
Oriental his duty 
in this regard. 
This is at least 
an open question. 
Toa group of 
European mis- 
sionariesinChina, 
I advanced this 
theory and— fire- 
works was the 
result! I know, 
of course, that it 
is only a theory 
as far as Ameri- 
can missionaries 
are concerned, 
for they are 
young in the field. 
One bishop, how- 
ever (there were 
several in the 
gathering), point- 
ed to parishes in 
his vicariate that 





DEN al ti MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


are self-supporting, but 
they are made up of old 
Christians, and hence offer 
no argument. 

Bandra, too, is a Chris- 
tian community of long 
standing. It has a goodly 
number of Goans; in fact, 
more than half the Cath- 
olics there belong to the 
Padroado, that is, they 
are under the juris- 
diction of the diocese of 
Damaun. 

The Padroado is the 
right of patronage granted 
by Leo X to Portugal in 
1514. It was given in 
i recognition of the zeal of 

A FAKIR the Portuguese for the 
propagation of the Faith in their newly acquired 
colonies, and of the beneficence of Portuguese mon- 
archs towards the missions already established under 
their flag in Asia, Africa, and South America. 

The erection of new dioceses, the appointment and 
installation of bishops, according to this agreement, 
could not be settled without consultation with Por- 
tugal. It was understood, on the other hand, that 
this Catholic country, then so powerful on the seas, 
so important in the commercial world, in such close 
and constant relations with three continents, should 
supply missionaries for her distant possessions, trans- 
port them to these parts and provide for the Church 





BOMBAY 223 


there in a material way. The result was that certain 
sees in India had Portuguese bishops and priests. 
Goa was the Metropolitan Center for India and the 
Primatial See for the Orient. Macao, the only dio- 
cese in China to-day (there are 54 vicariates with 
bishops presiding over them) is a suffragan see of 
Goa. In 1600, when the missionary activity of 
Portugal began to decline and she was no longer 
able to fulfill her obligations resulting from the 
Padroado, the Holy See limited the jurisdiction of 
Goa, and has been doing so ever since. From the 
time of the Goanese Schism (1838), in and about 
Bombay, Rome has sent new missionary societies to 
districts formerly under the Padroado. 

While the Padroado controls only four dioceses in 
India; that is, Goa, now a Patri- 
archal See, and its three suffragan 
sees: Cochin, Mylapore, and Da- 
maun, yet there are large Padroado 
parishes in other dioceses. For ex- 
ample, of the 50,000 Catholics in 
the city of Bombay, 40,000 are 
under the Padroado. It is embar- 
rassing for the Archbishop of Bom- 
bay to have no jurisdiction over 
four-fifths of the Catholics residing 
in his See City. Time, of course, 
will solve the situation. A PATHAN PIPER 





CHAPTER XVI 
BARODA AND ANAND 


EVENTFUL occurrences were not rare on my mission 
tour. Among them I count the following. Some- 
where in China I found a letter awaiting me from 
Fr. Tom in which this question was put: “How 
should you like to spend a few days in Baroda as 
the guest of His Highness the Maharaja?” Did I 
answer “‘No’’? Hardly. At first, I thought it was 
a joke, but upon reading the remainder of the mis- 
sive, the genuineness of the inquiry was apparent. 
Some years ago, my companion traveled from Bom- 
bay to England on the same boat with the Maharaja 
and his wife, the Maharani. His Highness is rather 
democratic; it may also have been his progressive 
ideas, his desire to improve his 
people, especially by education, 
that caused him to warm up to 
the Supervisor of Schools in the 
diocese of Pondicherry. At any 
rate, before landing, an invita- 
tion to spend a few weeks at 
Baroda was extended to the 
missionary. So that is how 
we happened to be State guests 
of His Highness, the Gaekwar 
of Baroda. 

It was only ten hours from 

224 





BARODA 225 





AN INDIAN MAHARAJA 


Bombay. In order to make a good impression, we 
got out our best clothes, had them pressed carefully 
(for we had slept in them more than once), and took 
the night train. You should have seen us dolling up 
before the train pulled into the station at 7:15 a.M.! 
The experience that awaited us, even for Fr. ‘Tom, was 
a newone. The guests of a Maharaja! How far was 
the guest-house from the station? Should we be able 
to secure any sort of conveyance at that hour? 
Might we by good fortune be met by the guest- 
master or one of his assistants? (Fr. Tom had 
announced our arrival.) These were the thoughts 


226 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


that ran through our minds. We felt that there 
might be a bullock bandy (perhaps a little more 
pretentious than those of our good missionary hosts) 
in waiting. But lo and behold! As we stepped on 
the platform, a young man in European dress 
accosted us, a tur- 
baned servant took 
charge of our bag- 
gage, and in a few 
minutes we were 
bouncing up and 
down upon the cush- 
ioned seats of a big 
touring car bound 
for the State guest- 
house. The “‘ Recep- 
tion Committee” 
sat in the front seat beside the chauffeur, and in 
perfect English pointed out the various buildings 
we passed. 

Our quarters were like those of a first-class Euro- 
pean pension. ‘There are three houses for visitors. 
Since we happened to be almost the only State 
guests, there was a generous choice of apartments in 
the building that were set apart for those invited by 
His Highness. We selected two adjoining rooms 
with an outlook upon a well-kept lawn. The doors 
leading to a spacious veranda were open. It was a 
crisp January morning, but the chirping of birds 
and the bright rays of the sun added to the good 
cheer of our surroundings. ‘“‘What time will the 
Fathers have breakfast and when will they want 
the car?” asked the gentle-voiced guest-master with 





A PAIR OF FRIENDS 


BARODA 227 


a bow. We told him we should like the car at once 
to go to the church. It also called for us after our 
Masses were over. While we were waiting with the 
pastor for the auto to arrive, we amused ourselves 
by watching the pranks of half a dozen monkeys 
sunning themselves on a wall just outside the little 
chapel. At about 9:30, our tour of Baroda began. 
Long before we came here, I had decided that, for 
several reasons, seeing India as a guest was far 
preferable to seeing it as a tourist. I was doubly 
sure of it now. 

There are almost 700 so-called Independent States 
in India. Hyderabad, with an area of 82,698 square 
miles, is the largest and most important. Its ruler, 
the Nizam, governs over 12,000,000 subjects and 
his revenue in dollars 
is equal to the popu- 
lation. Some 500 of 
these Indian States 
aresosmall that they 
amount tovery little. 
Several of them 
cover only a few 
square miles. They 
are all governed by 
native princes, min- 
isters, or councils, under the supervision of local 
British Agents. 

The Mahratta State, with Baroda as its capi- 
tal, is a little larger than Massachusetts and has 
a population of about 2,000,000. The Ruler, 
whose official title is His Highness Maharaja Sir 
Sayaji Rao, Gaekwar of Baroda, G.C.S.I., is consid- 





ANOTHER PAIR OF FRIENDS 


228 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





UNTOUCHABLE ... BUT 


ered the most progressive of all the native princes 
in India. 

As an Englishman on the boat from Bombay to 
Port Said put it: “He is always one step ahead of 
the British Government in the material and educa- 
tional improvement of his people.’ Fluent in Eng- 
lish and French, well traveled (he has circled the 
globe twice), and in close touch with western prog- 
ress, he is said to have done more for his subjects 
with his annual income of $4,000,000 than any other 
native ruler. And one sees the evidence of his in- 
terest in his subjects on all sides. His special hobby 
is the advancement of the depressed classes, the 
untouchables, as they are called. ‘The complete 
abolition of class distinction would, of course, at 
present be impossible. As previously noted, the 
castes are so woven into the lives of the Hindus 
that they are a fixture, a part of their social system. 


BARODA 229 





GRACE CAN TOUCH THE 


It is a better understanding, more cordial relations 
between the castes and non-castes or outcastes that 
is aimed at by His Highness. 

For many years, the Maharaja’s best efforts have 
been directed against the disunion and isolation re- 
sulting from this deep-rooted social division. His 
hope lies in the schools. Among his subjects, high 
and low alike, he sees the ravages of illiteracy. He 
realizes the difficulty of eradicating it entirely, but 
is endeavoring to give to those who desire it an 
opportunity of acquiring an education. 

The untouchables in the Baroda State are known 
as Antyajas. As far back as 1883, His Highness 
opened schools for this class. In 1906 Free and 
Compulsory Education Acts were passed. Since 
then the institutions of learning have multiplied, 
the pupils have increased in number and the standard 
of scholarship has been raised. In 1914, just before 





ROYAL TABLE, CARVED IN MISSION SCHOOL 


BARODA 231 


the war, there were 20,000 in attendance at lower 
and high schools (both boarding and day) and at 
the Baroda College. To Europeans and Americans 
this school-going proportion of the population of 
the Mahratta State will seem small. For India it 
is large, and for a State governed by a native prince 
it is extraordinary. Debating clubs, reading rooms, 
and libraries have done much to reduce illiteracy, 
and the Antyajas, we were told, are admitted on an 
equal footing with the others. This is almost in- 
credible to one who knows the ingrained hatred that 
exists between caste and non-caste Hindus. 

So consistent have been the reforms brought about 
by His Highness that the mingling of Antyajas with 
their betters even at social gatherings has resulted. 
This would seem the climax of success, but it is not, 
for a marriage between an Antyaja orphan girl and 
a high-class Hindu actually took place in 1919, and 
the State supplied the dowry for the bride. 

Patit Pavan, Uplifter of the Fallen, is one of the 
many titles of the Gaekwar or Maharaja of Baroda. 
In 1921, it was formally bestowed upon him in one 
of his palaces by the Arya Samaj, an organization 
for the betterment of the depressed classes through- 
out India. His Highness gladly accepted the honor. 

The Gaekwar has three stately houses in Baroda, 
beautiful, princely residences that remind one of the 
royal palaces of Europe. They are in different parts 
of the capital, but within very short driving distance 
of one another. Our guide brought us through them 
and showed us the State jewels. Never had we seen 
such a choice collection of precious stones. It was, 
of course, carefully guarded. Diamonds, rubies, 


232 MISSION TOURS —INDIA 


emeralds, and sapphires, unset and in rings (finger 
and nose rings), bracelets, anklets, necklaces, swords, 
and dagger hilts. On a red plush cushion there were 
three pearls valued at $100,000. Forming a dazzling 
pendant to a 
costly neck- 
lace, in this 
treasure room 
in the Maha- 
raja’s_ palace, 
is the sixth 
largest dia- 
mond in the 
world. 

It is an old 
Indian custom 
to put one’s 
wealth into 
such things. 
In fact, most 
Orientals did 
this. They had 
nothing like 
our modern 
stocks, bonds, 

A COSTLY CLOAK ' and other Se- 
curities; banks were unknown. So they turned their 
cash into jewelry and precious stones and counted 
their riches in these. The East moves slowly. The 
old methods still obtain. This same way of invest- 
ing and hoarding their savings is common to the 
poor as well as the affluent. A bracelet, a nose 
stud, a toe ring, or an earring, a necklace, a jeweled 





BARODA 238 


belt, or a combination of these trinkets often rep- 
resents the humble fortune of a Hindu working 
man or woman. 

But all the Gaekwar’s gems are not for the adorn- 
ment of men and women. By no means! He must 
have attractively caparisoned elephants, with rich 
and costly trappings. While visiting the corral, in 
which there were about a dozen excellent specimens 
of these masters of the jungle, we were shown one 
caparison that cost $10,000. It was a veritable 
blanket of gold and silken embroidery inlaid with 
jewels. On top of this costly cloak rests the howdah 





SPOILS OF THE HUNT 


in which the passengers sit. This pavilion, usually 
covered with a canopy, may have one or two seats 
very much like those of a sleigh. We were shown 
one howdah of solid gold and another of silver. 
Fr. Tom and I were invited to take a ride on the 
largest elephant in the herd. Two pictures in our 


234 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





THE TRAVELER IS UPLIFTED 


collection show us seated upon our lumbering steeds 
and ready for the road. 

Near Baroda, in the Mahratta State, is the birth- 
place of the celebrated Mahatma Ghandi, of whom 
we read periodically in the papers. We saw many 
of his followers, distinguished by their white caps, 
and heard much of his teachings, trial, and imprison- 
ment. His recent book, “ Young India,” gives a good 
_idea of his doctrine. It is a collection of his letters, 
essays, and speeches, with an introduction by the 
Secretary of the Indian National Congress, giving 
a brief sketch of the Non-codperation Movement. 

The Catholics in Baroda number about 300. The 
pastor, Fr. Fernandes, with whom we had a long 
talk, brought us into his parochial school beside the 


BARODA 235 





BUT JUMBO SINKS UNDER FR. TOM 


little church and house. There are less than fifty 
pupils. In six out-stations, with a handful of 
Catholics in each, he and his assistant, Fr. Cardo, 
are trying to propagate the Faith throughout the 
Mahratta State. Although this parish, dedicated 
to Our Lady of the Rosary, was started in 1852, the 
progress has been very slight. The entire flock does 
not total 500 souls. 

It was disappointing not to find the Church better 
established in this State. One would imagine that 
under such a broad-minded, sympathetic ruler as 
His Highness, Christianity would flourish. There is 
an English Church that dates back to 1824, but we 
did not hear that this is any more successful than 
ours. 


236 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


Notwithstanding the wonderful accomplishments 
of His Highness in the past, his influence seems to 
be waning. It is not so evident at present as it was 
before the war. This is due in large measure to his 

ee ee ere HTOUCLACLECIAUSehCe 

rare eee ) fromtheState. He 
is now somewhat 
advanced in years 
and spends most of 
his time in London. 
During our visit, 
he and the Maha- 
rani were in Europe. 
His successor (not 
one of his sons), a 
boy of about 
twelve years, is in 
cena " the hands of an 
i =_—= English tutor, but 
WHEN THE BULLOCK BECOMES AHORSE js ah. Gat 

Entertainment in one form or another is part of 
the hospitality extended by a rajah to his guests. 
You may follow the hounds on a sturdy steed 
selected from a well-stocked stable; if you like to 
see the other fellow exercise, you may review the 
army or go to His Highness’ wrestling school and 
feast your eyes on proud flesh and muscle in action, 
that would cause an American football coach to 
break the Tenth Commandment. In case you have 
little sporting blood and less time you may sit on 
the veranda and enjoy a show. The stage comes to 
you in India. We spent a pleasant hour after dinner 
on the second day, together with a small group from 









ANAND 237 


the other two guest-houses, watching a troupe of 
trained dogs and birds do their stunts. 

After enjoying and profiting by the hospitality of 
the Mahratta State for two days, we visited the 
Anand Mission, some twenty miles from Baroda, 
before returning to Bom- 
bay. Itis only an hour’s 
ride by train. The guest- 
master made our reser- 
vations, drove us to the 
station, and regretted 
that he could not send 
us the entire way by 
auto, as the road was 
not open. We departed 
with a good impression 
of what we had seen, and 
with a prayer for the § : : 7 
conversion of the Ma- rr. Gunrerr, $.J., ON HORSEBACK 
haraja and the Mahara- 
ni. His Highness is not an orthodox Hindu. He does 
not worship the household deity. In reward for his 
kindly disposition towards his subjects and for his 
genuine interest in their welfare, not characteristic, 
we are told, of all native rulers, God may be pleased 
to give him the light of Faith. 

We reached Anand at 8:15 p.m. The Superior of 
the mission, Fr. Gunter, $.J., met us at the station. 
On the way to the compound, we noticed that the 
town was placarded with announcements of the visit 
of General Booth. He arrived the previous night. 
Anand is the headquarters of the Salvation Army, 
the Central Station of our Gugerat missions, and an 





238 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


important station of the Irish Presbyterians. It is 
well-cared for spiritually and the Presbyterians have 
a first-class hospital. 

The presence of the distinguished and well-adver- 
tised General created no great furor. The placards, 
however, afforded much amusement to the town, 
for they literally called the visitor out of his name. 
The notices read: Mota But AvnarR Cue, which 
means: “The great Devil has arrived.” It seems 
that in the Gugerat alphabet there is no combination 
of the letters “th,” and in most Indian dialects 
“But” means the “old boy” himself. A few days 
later I happened to sail on the same boat with the 
General from Bombay to Port Said. He gave a 
public talk one night. The first half told of the 
work of his father and mother. The second part 
dealt with the accomplishments of the Army in the 
Far East, its aims and purposes. Many of the 
passengers were shocked to hear the speaker con- 
clude his lecture by stating that the aim of this 
great Spiritual Army in the Orient is to make the 
Mohammedans better Mohammedans and the Hin- 
dus better Hindus. If this really is the purpose of the 
Salvation Army, it is not Christian, and it would 
be better for its devoted teachers to stay at home. 

The Catholic Mission (St. Francis Xavier’s) in 
Anand is flourishing. It has 1,840 souls. Fr. Tom 
was especially interested in its training school for 
teachers and catechists, with seventy-five boys in 
attendance. There are twenty village schools with 
an enrollment of almost 600 pupils. The Daughters of 
the Cross conduct a small orphanage with eighty girls. 
Fr. Gunter and his assistant, Fr. Grau, S.J., have 


ANAND 239 


their hands full. We met here two native secular 
priests, Fr. Michael Rodriguez and Fr. Jerome Menezes. 





DAUGHTERS OF THE CROSS 


Anand has a rather unique school for boys, 
founded and supervised by the Charotar Educational 
Society. It begins with the primary grades, and its 
high school graduates may enter the Gugerat Na- 
tional University, with which it is affiliated. In 
1922, sixteen of its boys matriculated in the Uni- 
versity. Industrial and technical branches are 
taught and special attention is paid to the physical 
and moral training of the pupils. 

I was impressed most favorably with the general 
atmosphere. It is not a Christian school, but there 
is something about it that makes one feel it is out 
of the ordinary for a pagan institution. The Society 
accepts no Government grant. It is supported by 
its 600 members. ‘There are Patrons, Donors, and 
Fellows, who contribute respectively $333, $80, and 
$40. Then there are Associates, graduates who pay 
five per cent. of their earnings for life, and Volunteers, 


240 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


graduates who promise to serve the Society for at 
least twenty years and be content with a small re- 
muneration. The teachers are chosen from this last 
group. The Society even sends deserving poor 
students abroad. | 

It was a surprise to find that an institution of this 
kind can thrive upon the charity of its pagan bene- 
factors and the loyalty of its graduates. Everywhere, 
during my trip through the Far East, my attention 
was called to the generosity of pagans of means. 
Even Catholic missions, especially in their charitable 
and educational work, are benefiting in this way. 
I wish all our wealthy Catholics might know of the 
good deeds of philanthropic pagans. 








UR CONVEYANCE TO THE SCHOOL 


CHAPTER XVII 
BOMBAY —RETURN AND FAREWELL 


ON our return from 
Anand to Bombay, 
we again passed 
through Baroda. 
While the train 
halted for passen- 
gers, we got a good 
view of one of the 
sons of His High- 
ness, the Maharaja. 
The Prince is about 
thirty years old. 
He was talking with 
an Englishman, who 
decided to ride in 
our compartment. 
The young scion of 
Hindu nobility, 
judging from his 
command of Eng- 








ENTRANCE TO ELEPHANTA CAVES, BOMBAY 


lish, might well be a graduate of Cambridge or Ox- 
ford. Or he may have attended Yale, Princeton, 
or Harvard, for his dress, manner, and assurance 
savored of such colleges. 

From Anand to Bombay is 269 miles. We left 
at 8:30 p.m. and arrived at 7:15 the following morn- 


241 


Q42 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


ing. It was Thursday, January 25, and marked my 
last train ride in India. Was I sorry? Yes, because it 
meant the end of a delightful six weeks, spent among 
the noblest group of men and women I ever hope to 


meet. 


My boat, an Australian liner, sailed on Saturday, 
the 27th, at 4 p.m., so there remained about two full 
days to prepare. After purchases had been made, 
passport visés secured, films developed, letters writ- 


THE WEALTH OF INDIA 





ten, letter of credit cashed, and 
numerous other matters attended 
to, there was still some time left 
to “see Bombay.” 

His Grace, Archbishop Goodier, 
happened to have a free afternoon. 
We drove about the city visiting, 
among other places, Malabar Hill. 
This is the finest residential section 
of the Island City. Here the wealthy 
Mohammedans, Hindus, and Parsis 
have palatial houses. 

The Parsis are a picturesque, in- 
teresting, and influential group in 
Bombay. ‘They are followers of 
Zoroaster. Early in the eighth cen- 
tury, on account of religious per- 
secution in Persia, many of them 
fled to India. Their largest settle- 
ment at present is in Bombay, 
where they number about 80,000. 
According to the official census, 
these Zoroastrians are a little over 
100,000 strong in all India. In 


BOMBAY —RETURN AND FAREWELL 243 


their temples, they keep burning the sacred fire 
which, according to their tradition, was brought from 
heaven by Zoroaster. While praying to God, Whom 
they worship as the emblem of light, they are supposed 
to stand before a fire or to face the sun, these being 





From “John L. Stoddard’s Lectures’’ 
TOWER OF SILENCE 


symbols of the Creator. They are not, as is often 
wrongly stated, fire worshipers. 

Besides fire, the Parsis look upon water and earth 
as holy, and hence not to be defiled. This accounts 
for their unique method of disposing of their dead. 
As a corpse would pollute water, it must not be 
lowered into the sea. Since it would befoul the earth, 
our method of burying is prohibited. The Hindu 
custom of burning is even more repulsive to the 
Parsi, for it would be positively sacrilegious to con- 
taminate the sacred fire. 

So these devout, modern adherents of the ancient 
faith of Zoroaster have a peculiar method of their 
own of returning their departed to the dust whence 


244 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


they came. Well up on beautiful Malabar Hill, the 
traveler is shown the ‘Towers of Silence.” They 
are five in number, cylindrical, whitewashed struc- 
tures of cement, about 25 feet high and from 100 to 
200 feet wide. 

The white-robed mourners participating in a Parsi 
funeral march two by two through the streets of the 
city, up Malabar Hill to a gateway in a high wall, 
then up eighty steps to another gateway that per- 
mits them to enter the inner enclosure. They halt 
before a stone building, where prayers are offered. 
Two bearded bearers then mount a few steps to the 
Tower. Through an opening about eight feet from 
the ground they enter with the remains. The Tower 





SE dr et Mee wa EE B88 LE : pp Seer 
From ‘‘ John L. Stoddard’s Lectures’’ 


A GROUP OF PARSIS 





has three large, circular, walled compartments, run- 
ning completely around. ‘These in turn are sub- 
divided by other walls, running like the radii of a 
circle, with sections just large enough to receive the 


BOMBAY—RETURN AND FAREWELL Q45 


naked bodies. Men’s remains are placed in the 
outer loculi, women’s in the second and children’s 
in the inner, which are, of course, quite small. 

Then begins a gruesome spectacle. Hundreds of 
filthy vultures, that have been waiting in the neigh- 
boring trees, swoop 
down upon the lifeless 
form. In a few min- 
utes there remains 
nothing but the bones. 
To the Parsis, of course, 
it is not a ghastly, re- 
volting sight, but a 
solemn, religious rite 
at which they calmly 
and reverently assist. 

Horrible tales are told 
of pedestrians who, 
while walking up beau- 
tiful Malabar Hill, 
have been startled by  {é ne aa 
fingers and other parts A PAGAN PRIEST 
of bodies, dropped upon 
them by the greedy black scavengers. This is 
possible, but surely not of frequent occurrence. 
Wind and sun beat upon the skeleton. When it is 
dried and bleached, gloved carriers cast it into the 
well below. Here it crumbles into dust. 

On the boat, a few days later, I overheard a 
friendly discussion of this practice between a de- 
vout disciple of the Persian philosopher-prophet and 
a Christian gentleman from Australia. The former 
in defense of the method asked: “What is the differ- 





ATH NAL OGNIH HO YOTrHaLNI 





BOMBAY —RETURN AND FAREWELL 247 


ence between allowing a body to be eaten by vul- 
tures or by worms?” 

The Parsis constitute only a little less than one- 
tenth of the population of Bombay. But their pecu- 
liar dress singles them out among the motley rabble 
in the native bazaars, or in the stylish, well-dressed 
crowds in the English quarter. The women are 
robed in rich, costly saris, draped a little differently 
from those of their Hindu sisters. The men wear 
very wide, white trousers, long, loose, black coats 
and black patent leather hats, shaped like a horse’s 
hoof. This headdress, like the queue forced upon 
the Chinese by their Manchu conquerors, was a 
humiliating sign of bondage imposed by the Mo- 
hammedans when they persecuted and controlled 
these new arrivals in India. 

But the Parsis of to-day know no bondage. Po- 
litically, socially, and commercially they are the 
most prominent and powerful group in Bombay. 
Wealthy, intelligent, and well educated, these pic- 
turesque people are most highly respected. They 
are extremely philanthropic. Public buildings, 
hospitals, and educational institutions are monu- 
ments to their charity. As I saw these proofs of Parsi 
public spirit and generosity, again I asked myself: 
“Why can we not induce our wealthy Catholics 
to do more for missions and other worthy causes?”’ 

One of the many sights of Bombay is the animal 
hospital. Horses and cows that look like hat-racks, 
scrawny, mangy dogs, cats, rats, and monkeys, 
broken-winged and wingless birds, sick snakes, even 
insects are cared for here with a tenderness that is 
unbelievable. In place of the Christian precept, 


248 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,’ has been 
substituted, “Thou shalt love all animals as thy- 
self.” Hindus, Buddhists, and especially Jains, who 
in many ways resemble both, for Jainism is an off- 
shoot of Brahminism and Buddhism, inculcate 
scrupulous care of all lower animal life. Some are 
so conscientious in this that they refuse to kill even 
the persistent parasites that prey upon their brown 
bodies for food. During the war, the Indian regi- 
ments must have been the “‘cooties’ paradise.” 

A story is told of a wealthy old follower of Jainism 
in Bombay, whose house is infested with rats. Being 
a devotee, he positively prohibits his servants from 
covering the holes made by the destructive rodents 
in the polished floors of his palatial residence, lest 
the poor little things should thus be deprived of the 
run of hishome. This case is not unique. Connected 
with the Cutch Temple of the Jains is a hospital 
where 5,000 rats are supported. A fanatical Jain, 
we are told, even goes so far as to wear a veil over 
his mouth, to avoid swallowing a stray insect and 
thus taking its life. 

These poor, benighted Jains, in common with 
Hindus, not only have deep respect for animals, but 
worship them. Among the quadrupeds that are ob- 
jects of their idolatry, the most common are the 
monkey and the bull. Birds, snakes, and fish are 
also deified by these degraded people. 

All over India one finds images of Hanuman, the 
monkey god. Of course, he has temples, too. As 
noted before, one may amuse oneself, at some of the 
smaller railway stations, watching the passengers feed 
dozens of monkeys that come to meet the trains. 


BOMBAY —RETURN AND FAREWELL 249 


It is undoubtedly the lofty position occupied by 
these mischievous mammals that saves their lives 
when they have destroyed property. No one would 
dare to kill or even 
chastise them pub- 
licly. Sometimes, 
however, they are 
punished and taught 
alesson. I heard of a 
missionary, in a dis- 
trict where the mon- 
key is sacred, who lay 
awake nights trying 
to think of a way to 
rid the compound of 
a vicious, long-tailed 
visitor. Several boys 
and girls in the mis- 
sion school had been 
bitten by the little 
rascal. Father finally 
got an idea. He built a cage, caught “‘Mr. Monk,” 
chloroformed him and extracted his teeth. Then 
he let him go. The children were not troubled any 
more. 

The bull is, perhaps, the most sacred of all animals 
in India. In the Tanjore Temple, in the south, 
I saw a gigantic black bull. It is twelve feet 
ten inches high and sixteen feet long, sculptured 
out of a solid block of granite. It is sad, indeed, 
to see the poor ignorant Hindus anointing it with 
oil. This makes the monolith shine like the finest 
bronze. 





SACRED BULL 


250 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





permission of the publishers of ‘‘ John L. Stoddard’s Lectures ”’ 
SNAKE WORSHIP 


Live bulls are often allowed to roam at will. One 
sees them in the thoroughfares, stopping cars and 
autos. ‘They are even fed and worshiped in public 
streets and squares. ‘The owner of a green goods 
market feels highly honored if the sacred bull from 
the temple takes a liking to his vegetables and raids 
the shop. The lucky brute may clear out the stand 
without being molested. 

The reason, the underlying purpose of animal 
worship, is naturally sought by strangers. I asked 
how and why men could so debase themselves, and 
was told that the motive is twofold, fear and self- 
interest. If an animal is harmful, like the monkey 
and the snake, it must be placated; if it is useful, 
like the bull and especially the bullock, which is the 


BOMBAY —RETURN AND FAREWELL 251 


chief source of the wealth of these agricultural peo- 
ple, it is for one’s interest to keep on the right side 
of him. 

Among the animals worshiped from fear, the snake 
holds a prominent position. It is said that 30,000 
die every year in India from snake bite. All through 
the country one passes images of snakes, carved in 
rocks. ‘The evidence of religious devotions being 
performed before these idols is unmistakable, for one 
can see traces of recent libations of oil and other 
liquids. 

Not only Hindus, but other idolaters, are given 
to snake worship. But the Hindus seem to go. 
the limit. They will seek out snake holes and visit 
them at regular intervals, and bring food for the 
occupants; they keep snakes in their houses, feed 
and pet them, for it would be sacrilegious to do 
otherwise, and they build temples to the treacherous 
reptiles. 

In Mysore (Southern India) is one of the most 
famous. Great numbers of snakes live within the 
inclosure. They are fed and cared for by the Brah- 
mins on duty at the temple. Worshipers bring deli- 
cacies for the living snakes, or purchase in the outer 
temple oil to pour 
upon the countless 
carved figures of the 
snake god within. 
Never will you know 
the full import of the 
expression, “It gives 
me the creeps,” until 
you have visited India. 





252 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


And yet with its 
odd manners and 
customs (some dis- 
gusting, revolting), 
with its dirty, dusty, 
crowded, colorful 
bazaars, enlivened by 
constantly moving 
turbans and saris of 
a hundred hues, with 
its strange temples 
en i. and pagodas and the 

FR. SCHUBIGER, 8.4. preposterous pagan 
practices that are paraded within them under the 
guise and name of religion, India certainly has a charm. 
Of course, I was only a traveler with a purpose. Some 
of the missionaries who read these lines will perhaps 
exclaim: “That Sahib ought to live here and do a 
little work in this wonderful, enchanting land.” 

Of the difficulties experienced by our priests, 
Brothers, and Sisters, and arising from these very 
contrasts which make India delightful for the visitor, 
[ am not unmindful. These few, strange, religious 
observances have been noted, precisely to show our 
readers what our heroic missionaries are facing. 

It is not easy to make converts among an idola- 
trous people, but with God’s help and the backing 
of benefactors in Christian countries, it is possible. 
Real missionary work everywhere is difficult, often 
discouraging. But how meritorious and consoling! 

“What kind of Catholics do these people make? 
Can we really convert them?” ‘These questions 
have frequently been asked. They may have run 





BOMBAY —RETURN AND FAREWELL 253 


through your mind. Perhaps the best answer is the 
following: The 2,600,000 Catholics in India have 
given almost 2,000 native priests to the Church and 
over 3,000 native Sisters. These figures include only 
native priests and Sisters who are alive and actu- 
ally laboring in the Indian Apostolate to-day. In 
India and 
other mission 
countries, 
just as in Eu- 
rope and 
America, 
bishops are 
very strict in 
admitting 
candidates to 
the sanctu- 
ary and the 
cloister. 
There, as 
here, such a 
large number 
of families 
worthy to 
give sons and 
daughters to 
the service of 
the Church 
is a proof of 
deep-rooted 
Faith. 

Two points 





beat ass 


might be I WANT TO BE A SISTE 


VIGNI NI Gadd-HLVad NVILSIYHO V 





BOMBAY — RETURN AND FAREWELL 255 


noted in passing: First, the native priests have 
increased 15 per cent. during the past ten years; 
secondly, they might be much more numerous if 
there were greater resources at the disposal of the 
bishops for seminaries and preparatory schools to 
educate natives for the priesthood. An excellent 
way to help this splendid enterprise, as before 





A TYPICAL NATIVE HOUSE 


noted, is for Catholics in America to adopt native 
seminarists. It costs only $100 a year. The course 
in the seminary lasts six years, two of  philos- 
ophy and four of theology. If we could double the 
number of native priests and catechists, we could 
more than double the Catholic population in India. 

Some districts, as Chota Nagpur and Bezwada, 


256 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


are more prolific in converts than others. Where 
conversions have been numerous, it has been due not 
merely to the disposition of the people, but to the 
large number of catechists. 

The departure from Bombay on Saturday, Jan- 
uary 27, marked the end of my journey through 
the mission fields. It is now a very pleasant memory, 
one often revived by correspondence from those I 
met. My appreciation of the missions and the mis- 
sionaries is, I trust, more accurate. My esteem and 
sympathy for them I know are far greater than ever. 

At the dock, besides Fr. Tom and Michael, was 
Fr. Bennett, Procurator of the diocese, who did much 
to make our stay in Bombay enjoyable. He is an 
American Jesuit from the Missouri Province. Fr. 





WITH FR. BENNETT 


BOMBAY —RETURN AND FAREWELL 257 


Tom, though the son of an Irish patriot, and proud 
of the rich, red, Celtic blood in his veins, is undemon- 
strative. The writer, too, is of the phlegmatic type. 
So there was no “‘tear’’ing one’s self away. Fr. 
Tom’s kindness, his consideration, his company and 
his cooking will not be soon forgotten. We roughed 
it and bunked together in extremes of heat and 
cold; we bumped along on bullock bandy, Tin Lizzie, 
motor cycle, elephant, and camel, and we @ 

never had a “falling out.” 

Michael was made happy by a 
gratuity which meant little to the 
donor, but evidently pleased him @ 
very much. We got to be good 4 = 
friends during the weeks 
we spent together. Al- 
though I knew no Tamil 
and he no English, we 
managed to get along. 
It took me several days, 
however, to detect when 
he understood what was 
wanted. Down in the 
Tamil country not a bow, - 
but a series of quick shakes of ae Heed means yes. 

After passing through the Suez Canal, I left the 
boat at Port Said to visit the shrines in the Holy 
Land. Two days in Cairo and another in Alexan- 
dria completed my brief stay in the Near East. 
Naples, Rome, Paris, and Cherbourg were the Euro- 
pean stops. On March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph, 
I was back at my desk, and the Office never looked 
so inviting. 










REVOIR! 


CHAPTER XVIII 
SOME OBSERVATIONS 


To this rambling account of my hurried trip through 
India, I shall add a few observations which will 
touch upon the work in China, Japan, and Corea as 
well as in India. 

That the field is great none will doubt. Some will 
question whether it is white unto harvest. Their 
misgivings are perhaps founded on the difficulty of 
making conversions. Generally speaking, it is hard 
to convert pagan peoples. While there are districts 
where mass conversions have been made and others 





PIONEER WORK AMONG THE PAGANS IS NOT THE ONLY 
PREOCCUPATION OF OUR MISSIONARIES 


where they are possible, where the natives are 

clamoring for a priest to teach them, it is, neverthe- 

less, true that in the average mission, to increase the 
258 


SOME OBSERVATIONS 259 


Catholic population by conversions is a difficult 
matter. 

Even mass conversions present a problem that is 
not easy to handle. It is not enough to instruct and 
receive into the 
fold a village of 
five hundred or 
a thousand souls. 
They must be 
keptinthe 
Faith, cared 
for in many 
ways, guarded 
against the 
wolves from 
without, and 
from the dan- 





ger of lapsing THEY MUST ALSO TEACH THE CHRISTIANS 
again into pa- 
ganism with its diabolical practices and superstitions. 

Most of us picture the average missionary traveling 
from place to place, dispensing medicine, preaching, 
teaching catechism, baptizing, marrying, and admin- 
istering the other sacraments to scattered groups of 
new converts. ‘This is not, sad to say, the life of the 
average missionary. In some dioceses and vicariates, 
such a priest is the exception. 

We forget that there are many large, very large 
parishes in the distant parts of the vineyard just as 
there are here at home. Whole villages recently 
converted, old Christians and their descendants 
must be administered to exactly as in our own 
country. Schools and colleges must be supplied 


260 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


with teachers 
(priests, Broth- 
ers, and Sis- 
ters). And since 
the increase in 
the personnel 
of the missions 
does not keep 
pace with the 
conversions, 
the laborers are 
few, all too few. 

The greatest 
need in the 
apostolate to 
the heathen is not money. By no means! It is 
missionaries. The lack of laborers is the saddest 
void in our entire system. 

Large centers are, of course, a great drain upon the 
finances of a diocese or vicariate, for they require 
better and larger schools and churches, houses for 
Brothers and Sisters, hospitals and dispensaries, 
social centers, when possible, to offset the activities 
of non-Catholic missionaries, the Salvation Army, 
and the Y.M.C.A. But, notwithstanding the small 
resources of most of the missions, we repeat — men 
are far more scarce than means. 

The small resources of most missions! But are not 
all missions poor? Using the word mission in its 
widest sense, that is, for a diocese or vicariate, our 
answer must be negative. There are missions that 
are self-sustaining because they are composed of old 
Christians who have been taught to support the 





THEY MUST HAVE CHURCHES AND SEMINARIES 


SOME OBSERVATIONS 261 


Church; there are parishes with wealthy parishioners 
who contribute to the foundation and upkeep of 
smaller ones; there are large centers, especially in 
China, where, in the early days, the missionaries 
made small investments in land that are now profit- 
able; there are fine churches and schools built with 
indemnities paid by the Chinese Government. These 
missions are now better off than many parishes in 
the United States that are contributing to home and 
foreign missions. 

But such cases are isolated. They are not typical. 
And even in the vicariates mentioned, one finds very 
poor country districts. It should not be necessary 
to state that the money collected in Catholic and 
Christian countries by the Society for the Propa- 
gation of the Faith is intended for the needy mission 
and missionary. ‘These are legion. 

How gratifying it was to meet them! I did not 
reach the poorest and most deserving. As a rule, 
they are so far in the interior, such a distance from 
the beaten track, that I had not the time required 
to see them. The priests and Sisters with whom 
I did come in contact, however, impressed me 
deeply. Their simple trust in God, : <4 
their sensible, evident gratitude, not 
to mention their self-sacrifice, zeal, 
and good 
cheeramidst — 
unspeak- 
able hard- 
ships and 
frequent 
discourage- 





THEY MUST BUILD LARGE AND PERMANENT 
CHURCHES 


262 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


ments, stand out in my 
memory. 

Shall I ever forget the 
answer of a Superioress 
of the Little Sisters of 
the Poor (an American, 
by the way, from Ben- 
) nington, Vt.) to my in- 
q quiry, “How is it that 
you manage to keep 

' these three hundred old 
/ folks without help from 
abroad?”’ *‘Doesn’t the 
same good God Who 
provides for our 
charges in Boston look 
after our poor here in 





A VETERAN MISSIONARY 


Shanghai?”’ she replied. 

Remarkable, indeed, is the faith of the foreign mis- 
sionaries. ‘They start big projects like the building 
of a central seminary with nothing but hope. They 
trust in Providence, pray with confidence, and in 
God’s name begin. And I have seen visible answers 
to their petitions. Sometimes an exceptional appeal 
reaches the Office in the first mail, is read and blue- 
penciled “help.” That very mail contains the sum 
needed, or the same afternoon a visitor comes with 
the required offering. 

Nowhere in the world will one find more grateful 
hearts than those of our modern apostles. They have 
given all, they know what charity means, and hence 
can appreciate what others do for them. And they 
can express their gratitude, too. Help given to them 


SOME OBSERVATIONS 263 


seems to be not merely so many yens or rupees, but 
a mark of confidence, a proof of benevolence, an 
“T’m with you in your difficulties.”” You can see 
from their letters, you can detect in their manner the 
stimulus, the moral effect of a little assistance. It’s 
a tonic to their overtaxed nerves, a ray of sunshine 
let into their humdrum lives; it has a cheering 
effect upon their sometimes depressed spirits and 
weary souls. And all this reacts upon the giver. 
One can really appreciate how much better it is 
“to give than to receive” when one has helped the 
missions. 

It is surprising how much our missionaries have 
accomplished 
with the scanty 
means at their 
disposal. It may 
be that their very 
poverty has been 
an important 
factor in their 
success. For it 
forces them to 
upon God’s grace CATHOLIC COLLEGIANS 
and assistance. But the need of money in the mis- 
sions 1s great, especially in the fields of educational 
and medical work. 

These two enterprises are important; at least 
most of our missionaries are of this opinion. In 
the field of Catholic education, India is ahead of 
China. In Catholic medical activities, China sur- 
passes India. 





264 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


In China, there are no colleges as large as those 
of the Jesuits in Bombay, Calcutta, Mangalore, and 
Trichinopoly. India, on the other hand, cannot 
boast of large, well-equipped hospitals like those of 
Re gist Hankow, Shanghai, and Hongkong, 

" “ee with theexception of Fr. 
~ Muller’s famous hospital 

in Mangalore and St. 
Martha’s in Bangalore. 

Just outside of 
Shanghai, the Jesuits 
have St. Ignatius’ Col- 
lege with 500 boys, and 
the celebrated Aurora 
University. Its equip- 
ment, especially in the 
Medical School, is very 
. “= good. Of its 500 stu- 
SCHUDL st eo Sota dents, about 150 are do- 
ing post-graduate work. The Aurora is the only 
Catholic university in China. 

The American Benedictines have purchased a site 
for a university in Pekin. Two Fathers from St. 
Vincent’s Archabbey, Beatty, Pa., and the Rev. 
Arthur Barry O’Toole, D.D., are now in China for 
this purpose. The project is in great measure the 
result of a visit to China made by Dr. O’Toole when 
he was a professor at St. Vincent’s Seminary. At 
his own expense, he went to Pekin in 1920 to study 
the educational system. 

In and about Pekin there are five universities and 
colleges dominated by Protestant influence. Tsing 
Hua College, built by the United States Govern- 





VNIHO ‘NIMN0d “ALISHAAIND OITOHLVO AO WALSIOTO 





266 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


ment, at a cost of $1,200,000, from the Boxer In- 
demnity Fund, is controlled by American Prot- 
estants. It is a Preparatory School, where Chinese 
are examined and trained for entrance into American 
universities. Their expenses are paid from the 
Indemnity Fund. Of 600 students in the college and 
an equal number who have passed through it and 
are now in various American universities, there is not 
one Catholic. 

Japan has four excellent high schools in Tokio, 
Yokohama, Osaka, and Nagasaki, conducted by the 
Marianist Brothers, and the Jesuit University in 
Tokio; but its supply of Catholic hospitals is meager. 
In Tokio, a city of 5,000,000 population, we have 
not a single hospital. Corea, as yet, has no Catholic 
schools for higher secular education and no Catholic 
hospitals. 

We are fairly well supplied with seminaries in the 
Far East. In the small seminary (corresponding to 
our preparatory or apostolic school) promising can- 
didates are taught the classics and other high school 
subjects. In the large seminary, where the students 
spend six years, two of philosophy and four of the- 
ology, they are given a training much like that of 
seminarians here in the United States. An attempt 
has been made to raise the standard of ecclesiastical 
education in China by the foundation of regional or 
central seminaries to supplant the diocesan schools 
of theology. The advantage of this is apparent. 
Besides the ecclesiastical schools for candidates for 
the secular priesthood, the various Orders and Con- 
gregations have seminaries for natives who wish to 
become Religious. 


SOME OBSERVATIONS 267 






THREE SEMINARIANS SUPPORTED BY AMERICAN BENEFACTORS 


To-day, China and Indo-China each have 1000 
priests. In India there are 2000. The extent of the 
harvest field and the inadequate number of foreign 
missionaries make it imperative that we multiply 
the native laborers. 

As we have suggested, there is no_ better 
way to help propagate the Faith in the Far East 
than to adopt a native student for the priest- 
hood. In most mission lands it costs about $100 
a year. 

While the increase in native priests is helpful, it 
will be many, many 
years before the 
supply is sufficient. 
The present solu- 
tion of the need of 
laborers lies in an 
army of catechists, 
well-equipped lay- 
men who can take | | 
the priest’s place. JUNIOR SEMINARIANS ~ 





268 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 





SELECTING A CATECHIST 


But this supposes a large number of schools to train 
them. 

Reading, correspondence with the missions, and 
personal interviews with the many missionaries who 
had called at the Boston Office had convinced me of 
the importance of schools for catechists. Once in the 
field this conviction was strengthened. But, if con- 
version to this special enterprise were needed, my 
companion of six weeks in India would have brought 
it about. 

Fr. Tom’s hobby is the Catechist School. He talks 
of it in season and out, writes of it, dreams of it and, 
of course, prays for it. He has his heart set upon 
the establishment of a great international mission 
aid organization to be called the CaTECHIST 
CrusAaDE. It would collect funds for opening and 
maintaining throughout the entire mission field first- 


SOME OBSERVATIONS 269 


class schools, where these highly specialized lay 
helpers could be taught and disciplined — in a word, 
prepared to assist the overworked missionary priests 
and thus multiply the fruits of their labors. 

The need of such codperation, the wonderful re- 
sults that have been obtained in missions where 
catechists are numerous, the blessing of supporting 
these zealous native assistants, whom one mis- 
sionary called his “‘eyes, mouth, ears, hands, and 
feet,’ have been set forth in a most interesting pam- 
phlet published by the National Office of the Society 
for the Propagation of the Faith. Every reader of 
this booklet, who can afford to do so, will surely adopt 
a catechist. Send for a copy. If your pocketbook 


Pee 
‘ 





CATECHISTS IN TRAINING 


270 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


is slender, but your heart big, your Faith strong, 
you will persuade a group of friends like yourself 
to join with you in supplying the $50 a year 
required. 

ABS ae the war, money values were greater even 

7 in the missions. I once 
read of a missionary who 
broadcasted this entic- 
ing offer: ““Send me $25 
to support a catechist 
and I will give you 500 
converts at the end of.a 
year.” “An exaggera- 
tion,’ I thought. In 
India, on the east coast, 
I met this very man. When he had shown me his 
mission, related its history, pointed out the secret 
of its success, I saw that his statement could be true. 
Lest, however, I should be guilty of an overstate- 
ment, let me not be understood to say that every 
catechist can convert 500 souls in one year. 

In the field of primary education, too, there is 
much room for development. Schools, more schools, 
better schools are needed. Intelligent, well-grounded 
Catholics there, as here, will make for the future 
stability of the Faith. Some dioceses are extraordi- 
narily well equipped with primary Catholic schools. 
The Archbishop of Colombo, for example, on the 
island of Ceylon, told me he had 49,000 children in 
his schools. ‘This, in proportion to the total number 
of Catholic children in the diocese (50,200), is a 
better record than we find in Catholic and Christian 
countries. 


eS 





A CATECHIST 





A LIVING STAIRCASE 


272 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


Our medical mission work, as noted above, is 
better developed in China than in India. There is, 
however, even in the Celestial Republic, need of 
many more hospitals. A great number of large 
centers are not yet supplied. However, our dispen- 
saries (the signboards of the Church, as one mis- 
sionary called them) are numerous. To see the 
Sisters administering to the natives in one of these 
havens of charity would make a mission enthusiast 
of the most indifferent Christian. 

It is in Japan, Corea, and India that medical work 
is sadly neglected. Think of the city of Calcutta 
with a population of over 1,000,000 not having a 
Catholic hospital! The need in Tokio has already 
been referred to. We are aware that it entails great 
expense to start a good, modern hospital, and that 
the cost of maintenance, if there are many free 
patients, 1s considerable. We know also that the 
number of conversions in our hospitals is not as large 
as might be expected. But, if we were to consider 
only the care bestowed upon the sick missionaries 
themselves, it would seem a good investment. 

India offers a wonderful field for medical mission 
work, especially by women doctors. In the Zenana, 
where a male doctor may not enter, physicians of 
the opposite sex can do untold good. There are only 
three Catholic women doctors in this extensive field. 
Reference has already been made to one, Sister Mary 
of the Sacred Heart, whom I met in Guntur. An- 
other, Dr. Anna Dengel, of Rawalpindi, is now in 
this country lecturing in the interest of this splendid 
cause to which she is devoting her life. 

For some years in England there has been a 


GONGTYdd Xd AUVNOISSIN WHH AAHATHONY THONAC “Ud AUHAM 





274 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


Catholic Medical Mission Society. Recently the 
Catholic Medical Mission Board has been formed in 
the United States. It is affiliated with the Catholic 
Hospital Association and the Society for the Propa- 
gation of the Faith. Its purpose is to spread a knowl- 
edge of medical missions, to help them by alms, 
prayers, equipment and personnel. Under its aus- 
pices four nurses have already been sent to Akyab, 
Burma, where they are working in a government 
hospital. 

The August, 1925, issue of the Bengalese, the official 
journal for the foreign missions of the Congregation 
of the Holy Cross, carries a very welcome announce- 
ment of a new foundation. The following quo- 
tations are taken from the Bengalese: 


At Bengalese headquarters were drawn up the con- 
stitutions and rules of the Society of Catholic Medical 
Missionaries, the joint work of Dr. Anna Dengel and 
Fr. Mathis, with the counsel on canon law of Rev. 
Francis McBride, C.S.C., of Holy Cross College. The 
constitutions of the new society are modeled upon the 
requirements set down in canon law for a society of women 
who lead a community life after the manner of religious 
under proper superiors but without the three usual vows 
of the religious life. 

The founder of the society is Dr. Anna Dengel, an 
Austrian by birth, who made her medical studies at the 
University of Cork, Ireland, and who for three and a half 
years served as a Catholic medical missionary at St. 
Catherine’s Gosha Hospital, Rawalpindi, in the Punjab, 
India. 

Though the Congregation of Holy Cross has no or- 
ganic connection with the new society, the Foreign Mission 
Seminary and the BENGALESE, recognizing the merit of the 


SOME OBSERVATIONS Q75 


movement, will place local training facilities, as far as 
practicable, at the disposal of the members. 

Candidates must be fully qualified or trained and 
have certificates as members of some branch of the 
medical profession, including doctors, dentists, nurses, 
pharmacists, ete. 





THE VILLAGE DOCTOR 


In medical and social works and in the field of 
higher education, our competitors, the Protestant 
missionaries, have outclassed us. They have more 
hospitals and doctors, both European and native, 
and universities with graduate schools, especially in 
medicine. Almost every large mission has a social 


276 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


welfare department. The reason for all this? Money. 
While their means are not limitless, as many believe, 
they have enough to develop these various nets 
which lure the people to their compounds. 

Dothey make 
converts, sin- 
cere Christians, 
with all these 
material attrac- 
tions? Yes, 
they do, but not 
many in com- 
parison with 
our mission- 
aries. Christian 
doctrine seems 
to be second- 
ary with many 
Protestant mis- 
sionaries. They 
train the mind 
and the body, 
but Christian 
teaching often 
takes a second- 
ary place. 

“No one gives what he has not.’ If the mission- 
aries are not Christians, how can they teach Christ 
Crucified to the natives whom they are supposed to 
convert? There are hundreds of sincere, self-sacri- 
ficing Protestant missionaries, fervent, well-meaning 
Christians, who obey the laws of God as they see 
them. These men and women go to the Far East for 





THE MISSION DOCTOR 


AYOHVI “TOOHOS LYUVAH GAYOVS 





278 MISSION TOURS — INDIA 


souls just as do our priests, Brothers, and Sisters. 
But they are not typical Protestant missionaries. 
The method of selection, the short terms of service, 
the emoluments, the comparative comforts in the 
Protestant system preclude the possibility of getting 
a large percentage of high-type candidates. Compare 
their training or their absolute lack of training with 
that of our priests and Sisters. Why, there is no 
comparison whatever. On the boat to the Far East, 
we met a large group of them, young college gradu- 
ates of both sexes who decided to look for a berth in 
China a few months or perhaps a year before they 
booked up for their berth on the steamer. These are 
not missionaries. They were good companions on 
the voyage, but surely not called by God and 
sent by His Church to preach the Gospel to the 
heathen. 

Perhaps, then, Protestant missionaries are not 
such a formidable force as we have been led to 
believe? On the contrary, they are an obstacle to 
our work in many ways. ‘Their influence in the 
mission fields cannot be discounted to-day as it could 
have been fifty or seventy-five years ago. We might 
make a comparison between the growth of socialism 
in the United States and the spread of Protestantism 
in the Far East. Once we could laugh at socialism, 
not now. 

The annual expenditure of $50,000,000 and the 
efforts of 50,000 well-paid propagandists, working 
under the direction of over 10,000 energetic American 
missionaries, to say nothing of those from Canada, 
Australia, South Africa, Germany, and other Prot- 
estant countries of Northern Europe, must be reck- 


SOME OBSERVATIONS 279 


oned with. Organization is their power. They have 
marshaled their forces admirably. Men, women, 
students, and children will find special agencies, so- 
cieties, and conferences to interest them. Business 
men, young men, and especially students all over the 
world, even in the mission lands themselves, are 
attracted, brought together, trained to know and 
support missions. The Students’ Volunteer Move- 
ment, the World’s Student Christian Federation, and 
the Laymen’s Missionary 
Movement are wide- 
spread and powerful. 
Millions of dollars and 
thousands of recruits are 
gathered through such 
organizations. 

As the business man 
advertises his products, 
so these well-directed 
associations maintain a 
strenuous propaganda of 
the press. Books, magazines, pamphlets, and news 
items in the daily papers are prepared by well- 
trained publicity agents and circulated not only in 
Christian, but pagan countries. There are over 500 
Protestant missionary magazines edited in Europe 
and America. In India alone they have 130 period- 
icals and 40 printing presses. 

But, notwithstanding all the material aid at eh 
command, their really wonderful organization, the 
easy conditions of membership in their various sects, 
we are rapidly gaining ground, and in the end are 
bound to conquer. The following paragraph from 





280 MISSION TOURS — INDIA — 


the “Conversion of the Pagan World” sums up the 
situation, which is most critical: 


The hold of paganism upon the people is yet strong, 
and it is accustomed to the attacks being made upon it. 
Our competitors are, indeed, formidable, and the diffi- 
culties of every kind which impede the onward march of 
the true propagators of the Gospel are without number; 
yet, if Catholics fulfill their duty of codperation, if in the 
Church there arises a greater, a universal zeal for the 
cause of the propagation of the Faith, the final victory 
will undoubtedly be ours, because we have God with us. 





THE END 





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